Right ventricular systolic function in peripartum and dilated cardiomyopathies

Right ventricular (RV) systolic function of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) has not previously been well described and compared with that of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The aim of the present study was therefore to assess and compare RV systolic function between PPCM and idiopathic DCM, using tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE).

The study was cross sectional in design, carried out among adults referred for echocardiography to three laboratories in the City of Kano, Nigeria. Patients were recruited serially from October 2008 to May 2009. DCM and PPCM were defined according to the 2007 recommendations of the European Society of Cardiology working group on myocardial and pericardial diseases. Reduced TAPSE, signifying RV systolic dysfunction, was defined as value of ≤14 mm. A total of 90 patients were recruited over the 8 months period. Mean TAPSE was significantly less in PPCM (12.58 ± 4.27 mm) as compared with DCM patients (14.46 ± 3.21 mm) (P= 0.028; significant), while TAPSE ≤14 mm was found in 54.6% of PPCM patients and in 37.1% of DCM patients (P> 0.05; not significant).

The present study has found, perhaps for the first time, that RV systolic function in PPCM patients was worse than that of patients with idiopathic DCM.