title: Takayasu arteritis presenting as postpartum cardiomyopathy.
abstract: A case of Takayasu arteritis (TA) presenting as postpartum cardiomyopathy in a puerperal 26-year-old Hispanic female patient is presented. TA is a large-vessel vasculitis affecting young to middle-aged women. TA can result in cardiomyopathy as a direct result of myocardial involvement. The patient had classical clinical and radiographic findings of TA that were previously undiagnosed. She had rapid functional improvement with corticosteroids. The importance of a thorough physical examination of peripheral pulses is stressed in all patients, especially in those with cardiomyopathy.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Sciences, North Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Nagapradeep
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nagajothi
authors.forename: Jairo A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mejia
authors.forename: Kalpana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Raghunathan
authors.forename: Jose-Luis E
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Velazquez-Cecena
authors.forename: Khraisat
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.forename: Namratha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mapakshi
authors.forename: Sandeep
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khosla