Publication details
Peripartální kardiomyopatie
| Title in English | Peripartum Cardiomyopathy |
|---|---|
| Authors | |
| Year of publication | 2017 |
| Type | Popularization text |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a relatively rare disease characterized by systolic heart failure on the base of the left ventricular systolic dysfunction occurring in the end of pregnancy or in the months following the delivery in previously healthy women. The course of the disease may vary. Restitution of the left ventricular function is seen in 50% of the cases, some patients have a serious course of the disease with progression of heart failure to a cardiogenic shock, and sometimes heart transplantation or mechanical circulatory support are needed. About 20% of patients develop chronic heart failure with persistent dysfunction of the left ventricle. Early diagnosis and treatment are very important for these patients, which is somewhat hampered by the similar symptoms (dyspnea, palpitations, swelling of the tower limbs, fatigue and inefficiency) that occur in healthy women without heart failure in the end of pregnancy. This fact can make diagnosis more difficult. The etiology of the disease is still unclear. Most of the speculations are about autoimmunity, inflammation, fetal microchimerism, viral myocarditis, abnormal response to hemodynamic and hormonal changes during pregnancy, nutrition factors, and genetics. Nowadays, vasculo-hormonal hypothesis is being discussed. Incidence of the disease varies geographically. The incidence in the USA is 1 case per 1000-4000 births, and it is most often diagnosed in women of Afro-American origin. Accurate data from European countries are not available. According to the data from the USA related to our population, the occurrence of the disease in Czech republic should be about 30 women per year. The disease appears in 80-90% postpartum, only a small part of the cases is diagnosed during pregnancy. |