Postpartum psychosis in peripartum cardiomyopathy: a case report

This case report highlights the rare occurrence of postpartum psychosis in the setting of peripartum cardiomyopathy, which can have rare presentations like arrhythmias and pulmonary edema; and the challenges one should anticipate while managing these conditions together. Caution is advised whenever antipsychotic drugs are to be administered to a patient with a cardiac condition as these drugs potentially increase the risk of arrhythmias and sudden death.

A 35 year old grand multiparous woman who was 1 week into puerperium was admitted with severe difficulty in breathing at rest, chest congestion and pain. She also had easy fatigability, orthopnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, edema, tachycardia, tachypnea, irregularly irregular heart rate with a pulse deficit, elevated jugular venous pressure, cardiomegaly, hepatomegaly and pulmonary crepitations. On the sixth day while improving on standard drugs for heart failure, she developed bizarre behavior and confusion. She also had auditory, visual and olfactory hallucinations; violence to the baby and the husband; and refusal to feed and take medication. There was no altered sensorium and the vital signs were normal. She was diagnosed with puerperal psychosis during the management of peripartum cardiomyopathy.

In the rare occurrence of puerperal psychosis in the course of management of peripartum cardiomyopathy one must be acutely aware of the risk of sudden cardiac death occasioned by use of antipsychotics, either directly or due to arrhythmias. Continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring or use of alternative management modalities is thus highly advised.