Document Detail


Clinical and immunologic characteristics in peripartum cardiomyopathy.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  16904777     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare disorder of dilated cardiomyopathy and left ventricular dysfunction occurring in the last month of pregnancy or within 5 months postpartum. Outcome of PPCM is highly variable, comprising clinical improvement and rapid deterioration unresponsive to medical treatment requiring heart transplantation or even death. In this study, we report the clinicopathologic findings of 10 patients with PPCM who were retrospectively identified in our cardiomyopathy registry. During a follow-up of 69+/-27 months, no patient died or required orthotopic heart transplantation. Left ventricular ejection fraction was 38+/-7% at the time of diagnosis and 53+/-7% during follow-up. While all patients had sinus rhythm at the time of diagnosis, three patients presented with left bundle branch block. We found no evidence of viral infection in endomyocardial biopsy samples of seven patients by PCR. Histopathologic findings revealed the presence borderline myocarditis in two of seven patients (29%). Circulating autoantibodies to cardiac tissue of any kind were observed in all patients. In conclusion, in our retrospective observational study, no patient diagnosed with PPCM died or received orthotopic heart transplantation. Improvement of left ventricular ejection fraction was present in eight patients (80%), while LV dysfunction persisted in four patients. Our findings support the hypothesis of an underlying autoimmune pathomechanism in this rare disease.
Authors:
Steffen Lamparter; Sabine Pankuweit; Bernhard Maisch
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article     Date:  2006-08-10
Journal Detail:
Title:  International journal of cardiology     Volume:  118     ISSN:  1874-1754     ISO Abbreviation:  Int. J. Cardiol.     Publication Date:  2007 May 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2007-04-09     Completed Date:  2007-05-04     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8200291     Medline TA:  Int J Cardiol     Country:  Netherlands    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  14-20     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Diakonie Krankenhaus Wehrda, Internal Medicine, Hebronberg 5, D-35041 Marburg-Wehrda, Germany. CS.Lamparter@t-online.de
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adult
Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / immunology*,  pathology*,  ultrasonography
Echocardiography
Female
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
Humans
Immunohistochemistry
Myocarditis / immunology,  pathology,  ultrasonography
Pericarditis / immunology,  pathology,  ultrasonography
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / immunology*,  pathology*,  ultrasonography
Puerperal Disorders / immunology*,  pathology*,  ultrasonography
Registries
Retrospective Studies

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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