title: Postpartum pulmonary arterial hypertension: two cases covering a wide spectrum of presentations.
abstract: We present two clinical cases of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) diagnosed after pregnancy. Both patients experienced exertional breathlessness during the third month after their uncomplicated delivery, and idiopathic PAH was diagnosed after an integrated assessment. Our first patient, a 30-year-old woman, was vasoreactive, treated with optimally tolerated doses of calcium channel blockers with adequate response, and she has remained in a stable and satisfactory condition for the last seven years. The second patient, a 34-year-old woman, was non-vasoreactive and had an inadequate response to combination therapy, including prostanoids. Balloon atrial septostomy was performed as a bridge to lung transplantation, however she expired five months after her delivery.
authors.affiliation: First Cardiology Department, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Centre, Athens, Greece. efidemer@otenet.gr
authors.forename: Eftychia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Demerouti
authors.forename: Athanassios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manginas
authors.forename: Spyridon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rammos
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Athanassopoulos
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Karatasakis
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pavlides
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D065627:Familial Primary Pulmonary Hypertension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011644:Puerperal Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*