title: Emergency cesarean section in peripartum cardiomyopathy.
abstract: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is defined as onset of acute heart failure without demonstrable cause in last trimester of pregnancy or within the first 6 months after delivery. We report a case of PPCM with left ventricular ejection fraction less than 25% who had reported to us at 38 weeks of gestation for emergency caesarean section managed with graded epidural anaesthesia. PPCM is a form of dilated cadiomyopathy with left ventricular systolic dysfunction that results in signs and symptoms of heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, JIPMER, Pondicherry, India.
authors.forename: Suman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lata
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, JIPMER, Pondicherry, India.
authors.forename: M V S Satya
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology and Critical Care, JIPMER, Pondicherry, India.
authors.forename: Hemavathy
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Balachander
keywords: Ejection fraction less than 25%; emergency caesarean section; peripartum cardiomyopathy; second gravida