Treatment of Peripartum Cardiomyopathy With Mechanical Assist Devices and Cardiac Transplantation

The natural history of this group varied; 38% of the medically treated patients are stable on medical therapy (3 of 8) and 67% of the device patients (4 of 6) are alive. One of six device patients (17%) was successfully bridged to native heart recovery. Mechanical assist devices can be used as a bridge to recovery or as a bridge to cardiac transplantation for the treatment of peripartum cardiomyopathy patients who fail medical management. In addition, cardiac transplantation alone is also a viable treatment option for patients who fail medical management and do not require a mechanical assist device.