An anaesthetic quandary: Caesarean section during cardiac failure in a case of peripartum cardiomyopathy complicated by preeclampsia

Anaesthetic management of cardiac disorders in pregnancy has always been complicated and challenging. A rare but extremely fatal entity, peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a life-threatening disease affecting the parturient with mortality rates as high as 35–50%. Developing in late pregnancy or immediately after delivery, this unique disorder endangers not only the mother but the baby as well. We report here a case of a 28-year-old female parturient presenting at 37 weeks of gestation for caesarean delivery with recently diagnosed peripartum cardiomyopathy (ejection fraction of 28%) complicated by severe preeclampsia. She developed cardiac failure just before the induction of anaesthesia. She was successfully resuscitated, operated under general anaesthesia and shifted to the critical care unit for further management.