Peri Partum Cardiomyopathy

[starryangel]

I know this sounds like a big word and I never knew it exsisted until it happened to me, I just want to make other women aware of this and hopefully prevent it happening to others. Towards the end of my pregnancy I started to swell really bad even my face and hands swelled, I kept going to my doctor and he kept saying dont worry about it, as long as your blood pressure is ok, my normal blood pressure is around 90/60 so its very low normally my blood pressure got to 132/90 and the doc said thats not very high, I said it is high for me but he still brushed me off. I eventually went into labour at 42 weeks, the day before I was scheduled to be induced. was in labour for nearly 24 hours then they performed an emergency ceaser on me, my daughter was 8 pounds and very healthy no problems at all, and I thought everything was fine with me. I was getting ready to go home on the 3rd day after giving birth and bang I couldnt breathe, it was the scariest thing that has ever happened to me in my life, all I remember from there was I woke up in intensive care with tubes everywhere I had gone into heart failure because of all the fluid. So if any ladies have swelling, elevated blood pressure and shortness of breath just walking up the stairs pester your doctor and mention this name peri partum cardiomyopathy. the doctors told me it is quite rare but it does happen. dont want to scare pregnant ladies but I wish I had of known about this condition beforehand, maybe then I would have been more demanding on the doctor to do something.

[speckie]

Just wanted to let you know you are not alone. My story is very similair. I retained a ton of fluid all over my body during pregnancy. In the last few weeks gained 2-3 lbs per week. I couldnt even wear shoes by feet were so swollen. Then my bp skyrocketed in the last 2 weeks. I was induced and delivered naturally in 24 hours.

After delivery my BP did not come down and I was so exhausted for 2 days after and I couldnt breath. Then like you one morning I went into congestive heart failure and couldnt breath -I coded in the maternity ward. Finally I ended in in ICU on a respirator and tubes everywhere. It scared me to death too. I literally thought that that was it for me, I told my husband to please make sure he gave our daughter a good life.

But I made it and recovered totally. But I agree, I think there should be more education. My doctors didn't even know what was happening to me until it was almost too late.

Kudos to us who made it through:yelclap:

Did you have any more kids??