Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare, life-threatening form of heart failure occurring in late pregnancy or postpartum, with variable clinical course and outcomes. We report preliminary clinical and echocardiographic findings from a national Italian registry of PPCM patients Methods: The study was approved by the institutional Ethics Committee and registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05878041). Twenty-eight patients aged ≥18 years with confirmed PPCM diagnosis were included. At enrollment, all patients underwent clinical assessment, echocardiography, and peripheral blood sampling for multi-omics profiling. Results: Participants had a mean age of 33.9 ± 5.1 years and a median body mass index of 28 kg/m2 (25.5–32.9). Key characteristics of enrolled patients included African ethnicity (10.7 %), assisted reproduction (14.3 %), pre-eclampsia (14.3 %), autoimmune disease (10.7 %), hypertension (21.4 %), diabetes mellitus (3.5 %), and smoking (32.1 %). Most patients were diagnosed PPCM with NYHA class III/IV symptoms within one month postpartum; mean Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) at admission was 33.2 ± 9.3 %. Arrhythmic presentation occurred in 25 % of patients. Despite initial severity, 50 % of patients recovered LVEF over 11 ± 19 months, while persistent severe dysfunction (LVEF<35 %) requiring defibrillator implantation was observed in 14 % of patients. Several echocardiographic markers differed significantly in enrolled patients according to recovery status, and those with persistent dysfunction had larger LV end-diastolic diameters (61.2 ± 8.1 mm) and left atrial volumes (47.0 ± 24.7 ml/m2), lower LV strain (9.0 ± 1.4 %), and TAPSE (17.5 ± 4.2 mm, p < 0.005 for all). Conclusions: Clinical and echocardiographic predictors of LV recovery in PPCM need further investigation.
Clinical presentation and echocardiographic characteristics of women with peripartum cardiomyopathy: Insights from the Italian Multicentre Registry / Ilardi, F.; Manzo, R.; Peretto, G.; Lanni, F.; Peano, V.; Loffredo, F. S.; Masarone, D.; Gerardi, D.; Di Maio, S.; Bardi, L.; Licciardi, M.; Montali, N.; Pezzullo, E.; Di Lorenzo, E.; Stabile, E.; Battaglia, C.; Calanducci, M.; Bifulco, G.; Anastasia, L.; Carusone, F.; Cascone, A.; Di Santo, M.; Cavoretto, P. I.; D'Alconzo, D.; Palmentieri, A.; Carotenuto, M.; Di Spiezio Sardo, A.; Ioele, D.; Paolillo, R.; Polese, P.; Saccone, G.; Esposito, G.; Chieffo, A.; Perrino, C.. - In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY. - ISSN 0167-5273. - 442:(2026). [10.1016/j.ijcard.2025.133866]
Clinical presentation and echocardiographic characteristics of women with peripartum cardiomyopathy: Insights from the Italian Multicentre Registry
Peretto G.;di Maio S.;Anastasia L.;Cavoretto P. I.;Chieffo A.;
2026-01-01
Abstract
Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare, life-threatening form of heart failure occurring in late pregnancy or postpartum, with variable clinical course and outcomes. We report preliminary clinical and echocardiographic findings from a national Italian registry of PPCM patients Methods: The study was approved by the institutional Ethics Committee and registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05878041). Twenty-eight patients aged ≥18 years with confirmed PPCM diagnosis were included. At enrollment, all patients underwent clinical assessment, echocardiography, and peripheral blood sampling for multi-omics profiling. Results: Participants had a mean age of 33.9 ± 5.1 years and a median body mass index of 28 kg/m2 (25.5–32.9). Key characteristics of enrolled patients included African ethnicity (10.7 %), assisted reproduction (14.3 %), pre-eclampsia (14.3 %), autoimmune disease (10.7 %), hypertension (21.4 %), diabetes mellitus (3.5 %), and smoking (32.1 %). Most patients were diagnosed PPCM with NYHA class III/IV symptoms within one month postpartum; mean Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) at admission was 33.2 ± 9.3 %. Arrhythmic presentation occurred in 25 % of patients. Despite initial severity, 50 % of patients recovered LVEF over 11 ± 19 months, while persistent severe dysfunction (LVEF<35 %) requiring defibrillator implantation was observed in 14 % of patients. Several echocardiographic markers differed significantly in enrolled patients according to recovery status, and those with persistent dysfunction had larger LV end-diastolic diameters (61.2 ± 8.1 mm) and left atrial volumes (47.0 ± 24.7 ml/m2), lower LV strain (9.0 ± 1.4 %), and TAPSE (17.5 ± 4.2 mm, p < 0.005 for all). Conclusions: Clinical and echocardiographic predictors of LV recovery in PPCM need further investigation.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
