Is hypertensive disorder a unique risk factor for peripartum cardiomyopathy and pregnancy-associated cardiomyopathy?

Abstract

The complex relationship between pregnancy and cardiovascular disease is not fully understood. Heart failure during pregnancy was recognized in 1849 by Virchow, but it was first described as a distinct clinical entity of cardiomyopathy in 1937. Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is classically defined as development of cardiac failure in the last month of pregnancy or within 5 months after delivery, absence of an identifiable cause of cardiac failure, absence of recognizable heart disease prior to the last month of pregnancy and left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. PPCM is a rare, but life-threatening condition of unknown cause that occurs in previously healthy women. It is reported that mortality rates are 2-3% and half of patients return to normal LV function.