Table 1.
Clinical and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging characteristics of patients with acute peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) and healthy controls.
| Variable | Patients with PPCM (n = 17) |
Healthy Female Controls (n =15) | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical parameters | |||
| Age (years) | 33 ± 5 | 33 ± 8 | 0.892 |
| Weight (kg) | 77 ± 19 | 67 ± 13 | 0.088 |
| Height (cm) | 170 ± 8 | 170 ± 7 | 0.972 |
| Body mass index (kg/m²) | 27 ± 7 | 23 ± 4 | 0.077 |
| Heart rate (bpm) | 78 ± 27 | 75 ± 11 | 0.052 |
| NT-proBNP (pg/mL) | 8792 ± 12,308 | NA | - |
| Troponin I (ng/L) | 0.12 ± 0.25 | NA | - |
| C-reactive protein (mg/L) | 15.0 ± 11.1 | NA | - |
| White blood cells (G/L) | 10.5 ± 3.7 | NA | - |
| CMR parameters | |||
| Left ventricular ejection fraction (%) | 31 ± 10 | 61 ± 6 | <0.001 |
| Left ventricular end-diastolic volume index (mL/m²) | 121 ± 43 | 73 ± 9 | <0.001 |
| Right ventricular ejection fraction (%) | 32 ± 13 | 57 ± 7 | <0.001 |
| Right ventricular end-diastolic volume index (mL/m²) | 82 ± 24 | 75 ± 11 | 0.300 |
| Cardiac index (L/min/m²) | 3.0 ± 0.7 | 3.3 ± 0.7 | 0.228 |
| Left atrium volume index (mL/m²) | 75 ± 24 | 40 ± 10 | <0.001 |
| Left ventricular mass index (g/m²) | 71 ± 19 | 41 ± 7 | <0.001 |
| Interventricular septal thickness (mm) | 10.3 ± 1.9 | 7.9 ± 1.1 | <0.001 |
| T2 signal intensity ratio | 2.10 ± 0.34 | 1.58 ± 0.21 | <0.001 |
| Visual myocardial edema | 10 (59%) | 0 (0%) | <0.001 |
| Visual late gadolinium enhancement |
2 (12%) | 0 (0%) | 0.484 |
| Late gadolinium enhancement (%) | 3.9 ± 4.7 | 0.6 ± 0.7 | 0.013 |
| Global longitudinal strain (%) | −11.8 ± 4.8 | −22.3 ± 4.2 | <0.001 |
| Global circumferential strain (%) | −12.3 ± 6.3 | −24.1 ± 3.6 | <0.001 |
| Global radial strain (%) | 22.8 ± 14.7 | 37.1 ± 10.2 | 0.004 |
| T1 relaxation time, native (ms) | 1070 ± 51 | 980 ± 28 | 0.001 |
| Extracellular volume fraction (%) | 31.7 ± 7.1 | 27.7 ± 3.2 | 0.235 |
| T2 relaxation time (ms) | 63 ± 5 | 53 ± 2 | <0.001 |
Continuous variables are given as mean ± standard deviation. Dichotomous variables are given as absolute frequency with percentages in parentheses. p-Values were obtained using Student’s t-test and Fisher exact test. NT-proBNP = N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide. Mapping parameter (T1 and T2 relaxation times and extracellular volume fraction) were available in 8 patients. Values in bold denote statistical significance.