Bromocriptine treatment in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy and right ventricular dysfunction.

Background: Right ventricular (RV) dysfunction predicts adverse outcome in peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). We recently demonstrated beneficial effects associated with the prolactin release inhibitor bromocriptine at different doses when added to standard heart failure therapy in PPCM. Here, we evaluated for the first time the therapeutic potential of bromocriptine particularly in PPCM patients with RV involvement.

Bromocriptine for the treatment of peripartum cardiomyopathy: a multicentre randomized study.

Aims: An anti-angiogenic cleaved prolactin fragment is considered causal for peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). Experimental and first clinical observations suggested beneficial effects of the prolactin release inhibitor bromocriptine in PPCM.

Methods And Results: In this multicentre trial, 63 PPCM patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35% were randomly assigned to short-term (1W: bromocriptine, 2.

Outcome of subsequent pregnancies in patients with a history of peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Aims: Subsequent pregnancies (SSPs) in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) have a high risk of heart failure relapse. We report on outcome of SSPs in PPCM patients in Germany, Scotland, and South Africa.

Methods And Results: Among 34 PPCM patients with a SSP, pregnancy ended prematurely in four patients while it was full-term in 30.

Prognostic implication of right ventricular involvement in peripartum cardiomyopathy: a cardiovascular magnetic resonance study.

Aims: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a major cause of acute heart failure in the peripartum period and considered potentially life threatening. While many aspects of its clinical profiles have been frequently reported, functional analysis, in particular of the right ventricle, and tissue characterization by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging have been only sporadically described. The aim of the present study was to analyse pathological alterations and their prognostic relevance found in CMR imaging of patients newly diagnosed with PPCM.

Rationale and design of a randomized, controlled multicentre clinical trial to evaluate the effect of bromocriptine on left ventricular function in women with peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is an idiopathic heart disease that develops in the last month of pregnancy and/or the first months following delivery in previously healthy women and may lead to acute heart failure. A cleaved fragment of the nursing hormone prolactin is considered essential in the pathophysiology of PPCM. To date, no specific therapy has been tested for PPCM in a randomized controlled trial of adequate size.