Cardiomyopathy and pregnancy.

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Abstract
The obstetric histories of 15 patients with cardiomyopathy were reviewed, and it was shown that patients with pre-existing cardiomyopathy may have congestive cardiac failure or arrhythmias in the last trimester of pregnancy or in the puerperium. If the cardiomyopathy is not recognized before pregnancy, such patients may be regarded as examples of post-partum cardiomyopathy (Meadows'' syndrome). It is doubtful whether post-partum cardiomyopathy exists as a specific entity, and this diagnosis is considered likely in only 1 of the present cases. Environmental and social factors may be of etiological importance in many of the cases reported, and fall investigation may reveal the occasional patient who develops cardiomyopathy due to a known etiological agent during pregnancy or the puerperium.