Peripartum cardiomyopathy: a case report.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a specific form of dilated cardiomyopathy, characterized by the development of systolic heart failure in the period between the last month of pregnancy and five months after delivery. It is a rare clinical condition of variable prognosis that occurs in the absence of identifiable cause or prior known heart disease. The authors report a clinical case of a previously healthy 33-year-old woman who developed de novo symptoms of progressively worsening heart failure in the 33rd week of gestation, that ended after two weeks in the development of cardiogenic shock and the need for emergency delivery.