Can peripartum cardiomyopathy be familial?

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare disorder, with four principal features: 1-development of cardiac heart failure in the last month of pregnancy or within five months after delivery, 2-absence of an identifiable cause for heart failure, 3-absence of underlying heart disease prior to the last month of pregnancy, 4-evidence of left ventricular systolic dysfunction by classic echocardiographic criteria. Reported forms of familial peripartum cardiomyopathy are exceptional. Our observation emphasizes the interest of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the investigation of an acute heart failure occurring during the peripartum and allows us to evoke a genetic predisposition in some cases of PPCM, to discuss the fact that some forms of familial PPCM could be unknown familial dilated cardiomyopathy unmasked by pregnancy, and to wonder on the familial screening modalities. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.