Progress in cardiovascular diseases
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Prog Cardiovasc Dis · Jan 2010
ReviewPeripartum cardiomyopathy in Africa: challenges in diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy.
Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a form of heart failure affecting women of childbearing age, which can be associated with considerable mortality and chronic debilitating disease. Most patients present with acute postpartal heart failure that resembles the clinical presentation of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. ⋯ Beyond any potentially inherent factors contributing to poorer outcomes of patients with PPCM in developing societies, prognosis in these settings will continue to lag behind as the challenges faced to optimizing diagnosis remain immense. New insights into the role of inflammatory, apoptotic, and other genetic pathways may improve prognosis through the early detection and more targeted treatment of PPCM.
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Cardiac sarcoidosis is an underdiagnosed disease that may be present in as many as 25% of patients with systemic sarcoidosis. Although most commonly recognized in patients with other manifestations of sarcoidosis, it may occur in isolation and its presence is often not appreciated. ⋯ Although untested in clinical trials, early use of high-dose steroid therapy may halt or reverse cardiac damage. This article reviews the clinical manifestations, diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis, with an emphasis on new imaging techniques and therapies.