Clinical characteristics and risk factors for peripartum cardiomyopathy

Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a potentially fatal form of heart failure and the recognition of its risk factors is important for prevention and treatment.Objective: To explore the clinical characteristics and the risk factors for PPCM.Methods: Echocardiographic was used to examine the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Blood level of troponin I (cTNI), high sensitive C-reaction protein (hs-CRP), NT-proBNP was measured. All PPCM occurred within weeks following delivery.Results: Fifty-two PPCM patients and 52 normal delivery subjects (control group) were included in this study. Compared with the control group, PPCM patients were older, with a higher level of blood pressure, and a higher rate of suspected respiratory infection. The level of leucocytes, hs-CRP, cTNI and NT-proBNP in PPCM patients were higher than in the control. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that elevated plasma hs-CRP (OR =1.86, p