Heart failure/cardiomyopathy

[justine79]

Hi everyone,
I dont even know if im in the right place to post this. I have a long story and I will try to make it as short as possible. I have a 4 year old and a 4 month old. Two sons. I developed pre-ecampsia at the end of my first pregnancy. He was 10lbs, 7ozs.........4 years goes by without my seeing a doctor.......get pregnant with my second son....from very early on, they found very high amounts of protein in my urine. But they said it was too early for pre-eclampsia, and that I may have a kidney disease. At the next few appointments, I had elevated blood pressure. Now, I freak, cause I know what can happen if they take the baby too early. I refused to go to a doctor again for a long time. Finally, at 35 weeks, I had to go in. I was told that ,my pressure was too high and because of the severe headache, they wanted to induce. I was on mag for a while also. He was fine. A 7lb, 3oz preemie.

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Afetr I came home, I didnt feel good. I went to the pharmacy on a daily basis to check my pressure. It was always about 165/118.....at the time, i didnt realize how high that was.....3 weeks go by, I go into congestive heart failure with cardiomyopathy, am diagnosed with PPCM, and told I might need a heart transplant. Within 10 weeks, I recovered to normal, heart function. My cardiologist believes that this was not caused by the pregnancy per-say.......that the elevated blood pressure caused it to happen. Today, 4 months later, they still cant get my pressure under control! The other night it was 168/128.......I ended up in the er again and was told it was gestational hypertension, and that I shouldnt have any more kids. How can you have gestational hypertension when I havent been pregnant for 4 months? Anyone know of this ever happening? Where pre-eclampsia could lead to CHF?

[expert on call]

Justine,

Thanks for your question. Preeclampsia is associated with congestive heart failure and peripartum cardiomyopathy. It may also lead to problems with blood pressure for many years to come. I would say based on your story that most of the symptoms you were having postpartum were related to the cardiomyopathy. Studies have shown that many patients with cardiomyopathy will not regain normal functioning of the heart for quite a while, if at all. Pregnancy, especially when complicated by preeclampsia, can put some very unique demands on the body, and it can unmask diseases that the body was previously compensating for. You should by now be referred to a cardiologist who can take care of this issue over a long term.

Take care and let us know if you have any other questions.

Expert on Call

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