Poor outcome of indigent patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy in the United States.
OBJECTIVE
Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) patients from Haiti and South Africa have poor survival and poor left ventricular (LV) function recovery compared with patients from the United States. There are no reported studies of PPCM among the African American population in the United States. We evaluated the prognosis of PPCM in a mostly African American population.


METHODS
We analyzed the clinical and echocardiographic data of 44 (39 African American) patients with PPCM over an 11 year period (1992-2003).


RESULTS
Thirty-nine patients were indigent and 5 had health insurance. During a mean follow-up of 24.0 (range, 0.1-264) months, 7 (15.9%) patients died and LV function returned to normal in 14 (35%).


CONCLUSIONS
LV function recovery and survival rates of PPCM patients observed in our study are similar to those reported from Haiti and South Africa and different from what is generally accepted in the United States.
Modi
Kalgi A
KA
Section of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, Shreveport, LA, USA. kmodi@lsuhsc.edu
Illum
Sandra
S
Jariatul
Karim
K
Caldito
Gloria
G
Reddy
Pratap C
PC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality*; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008145:Louisiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000401:mortality*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000208:ethnology; D011379:Prognosis; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult