Objective: Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a rare form of cardiomyopathy of unclear etiology, which affects women in the last month of pregnancy or in the first five months after delivery.
Design: Case report.
Setting: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hospital Rychnov nad Kněžnou.
Case report: We report a case of 26 years old woman with rapidly worsening shock state closely after caesarean section. As the cause of the shock was diagnosed heart failure due to peripartum cardiomyopathy. The myocardial function was normalized during the next 12 months despite previous dramatic course.
Conclusion: Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a rare form of cardiomyopathy of unclear etiology, which affects women in the last month of pregnancy or in the first five months after delivery. Cardiomyopathy can have a rapid course and give rise to a cardiac arrest or toa permanent structural heart damage. We have to think about peripartum cardiomyopathy in women with symptoms of heart failure as in our case report. The tratment requires interdisciplinary cooperation.