Getting the word out!

[Stephanie'sbigheart]

Dr. Fett,

My Sister N Law is in med school and she is doing a power point presentation on PPCM to other students and a room full of OB's. Yeahhaaa! I am so thrilled she is doing this by the way. I have been working hard to pull up some valueable information for her to share in her short 15 mins. I recently saw a handout you made to give to OB's and doctors...I remember Serena saying she was going to "sticky it" anyway I cannot find it. I thought it would be an awesome handout for the end of her presentation.

I am thinking this 15 minutes could save someone's life! ;-)


PS.

My garage sale went okay! I raised 100.00 for the ladies in Haiti!!!!!
BOY.....I learned a lot
about garage sales...this was my first time. Whew! :)

[JAMESFETT]

Maybe you are thinking about the "Looking for information to share with your physician? line on www.ppcmsupport.org. If you double-click on that you will see a summary outline along with many references. On the same web page you will see several red dots and if you click on the "about ppcm" dot as well as the "news" dot you will find additional news items. That's great that your sister-in-law is working on this. That's what it takes to spread the story, and we are making progress.

JD

P.S. I am in awe about what you have done for the ppcm mothers in Haiti. Bless you.

[Stephanie'sbigheart]

Thank you Dr. Fett... that is good infor too! This is what I saw in the past though! I will give her all that we spoke about.



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Re: peripartum cardiomyopathy
Early detection and diagnosis

It is important for clinicians to be alert to the possibility of
subclinical, latent, or incubating peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM).
Early diagnosis and subsequent treatment may result in reduced
morbidity and mortality.

It is important for all peripartum women and their health caregivers
to recognize signs and symptoms that could be associated with left
ventricular dysfunction and impending heart failure:
1)Noticeablee dyspnea on exertion or shortness of breath at rest.
2)Persistent cough that fails to clear
3)Noticeable and increasing swelling of the legs
4)Inability to lie flat to sleep, and/or sudden awakening at night
with shortness of breath
5)Other symptoms include palpitations or irregular pulse and feeling
of faintness or light-headedness
These are all signs and symptoms that merit medical consultation and
consideration for an echocardiogram to be carried out.

There is no clear correlation between mild left ventricular systolic
function impairment and clinical symptoms. Noticeable dyspnea on
exertion or at rest varies considerably from patient to patient with
similar mild reductions in left ventricular ejection fraction.
Therefore, it is understandable that the diagnosis of PPCM may be
delayed or even totally missed unless there is a high level of
suspicion, and additional assessments are made.

There are also three blood tests that may help in early detection of
left ventricular dysfunction:
1)B-type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) above the "cut-off" value,
2)High sensitivity-C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP), over 10 mg/Liter, and
3)Cardiac Troponin-T.
Elevation of these tests should prompt consideration for doing an
echocardiogram if it has not already been done. The echocardiogram can
provide a definitive diagnosis of heart failure and dilated
cardiomyopathy, even if the precise cause remains unknown.

In PPCM the time interval between the beginning of cardiomyopathy and
the development of clinically detectable heart failure is variable and
unknown. Whatever the time required, it is important to recognize this
process because early treatment is important for survival and
recovery.

James D. Fett, MD
9 April 2007
www.amothersheart.org (support

[SusanD]

Thank you SO much for helping to get word out ! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure you convey that the majority of us are previously totally healthy women, in great shape, of normal body weight......absolutely the last people you would expect to have any complications.

Also include that a significant portion of us were misdiagnosed with panic attacks, asthma and pnuemonia. PPCM should *ALWAYS* be on the list of differential diagnoses and ruled out accordingly.

[Stephanie'sbigheart]

I will email your post to her now! Thank you for sharing your ideas!