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CASE REPORT article

Front. Cardiovasc. Med.

Sec. Heart Failure and Transplantation

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcvm.2025.1666816

Peripartum Cardiomyopathy in a 28-Year-Old Patient -case report

Provisionally accepted
Katarzyna HajdukKatarzyna Hajduk1*Aleksandra GilAleksandra Gil1Wojciech PapisWojciech Papis1Gabriela SkórskaGabriela Skórska1*Joanna ŚliwkaJoanna Śliwka2Szymon PawlakSzymon Pawlak2Tomasz HrapkowiczTomasz Hrapkowicz2
  • 1Student Scientific Association of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Department of Cardiac, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and Transplantology, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland
  • 2Department of Cardiac, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and Transplantology, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Silesian Center for Heart Diseases, Zabrze, Poland

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Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare but serious form of heart failure that occurs toward the end of pregnancy or in the early postpartum period. We present the case of a 28-year-old woman who developed severe biventricular heart failure and cardiac arrest shortly after childbirth. Despite treatment with mechanical circulatory support with veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA-ECMO) and intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP), her condition did not improve, and she was urgently referred for heart transplantation. Histological examination of the explanted heart revealed noncompaction cardiomyopathy (NCC), a rare structural heart disease that may mimic PPCM. This case highlights the challenges in diagnosing PPCM and the importance of early intervention, including advanced support and transplant, in cases with poor recovery prospects.

Keywords: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), Pregnancy-related cardiomyopathy, Heart tranplantation, Heart FaiIure, Postpartum heart failure

Received: 15 Jul 2025; Accepted: 19 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Hajduk, Gil, Papis, Skórska, Śliwka, Pawlak and Hrapkowicz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Katarzyna Hajduk, Student Scientific Association of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Department of Cardiac, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and Transplantology, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland
Gabriela Skórska, Student Scientific Association of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, Department of Cardiac, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery and Transplantology, Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Katowice, Poland

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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