Peripartum Cardiomyopathy: Who's at Risk?

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (heart failure without any alternate etiology during late pregnancy or the puerperium) is associated with substantial risk for maternal death. In addition, this condition can recur; therefore, having accurate information about which women are at risk is important for obstetric and women's health providers alike. Investigators at Kaiser Permanente of Northern California conducted a 10-year retrospective study of its large, diverse obstetric cohort to explore risk factors for peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Incidence of confirmed cases of peripartum cardiomyopathy was 4.8 per 10,000 live births. Mortality among cases was 6.1 per 1000 person-years, 27 times that of women without cardiomyopathy. Women of black, Filipino, and…