Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

American Indian and Alaska Native communities are some of the most underserved minoritized groups in the United States, and Indigenous women are most likely to confront the health-related consequences, particularly during pregnancy.

Women who experience adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes are at high risk for CVD, yet many of these women are not properly assessed and followed during the critical postpartum period.

PHILADELPHIA — In the SPEC-AI trial, use of an artificial intelligence-enhanced digital stethoscope doubled the number of cases of peripartum cardiomyopathy identified among pregnant and postpartum women.

The Healio team is providing live coverage of the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions in Philadelphia.

New serum proteomic analyses suggest that a distinct dysregulation of inflammatory and cholesterol-related pathways drive peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare but serious complication of pregnancy occurring more frequently among Black women.

Women with peripartum cardiomyopathy are at greater risk for short- and long-term mortality with subsequent pregnancies, even if they recover left ventricular systolic function after the index pregnancy, data show.

In women of reproductive age who have COVID-19, those who are pregnant are more likely to have poor CV outcomes than those who are not, according to a review published in JACC: Advances.

Black and Hispanic patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy exhibited greater prevalence of cardiogenic shock and experienced greater in-hospital mortality vs. white patients, researchers reported.

CVD is the leading cause of maternal deaths in the U.S., contributing to a more than twofold increase in pregnancy-related mortality from 1987 to 2015, and better CV management in pregnant women is needed, according to a presenter.

CVD and cardiomyopathy are the leading causes of maternal mortality up to 1 year after pregnancy, accounting for one-quarter of maternal deaths in the U.S., according to the Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System.