부산대학교 도서관

Background: Acute post-partum dyspnea configures an obstetric challenge with multiple differential diagnosis. Case presentation: We present a case of a previous healthy woman with preeclampsia who developed severe dyspnea 30 h after delivery. She complained of cough, orthopnea, and bilateral lower extremities oedema. She denied headaches, blurry vision, nausea, vomiting, fever or chills. Auscultation revealed a diastolic murmur, and was compatible with pulmonary oedema. A timely bedside echocardiogram showed moderate dilated left atrium with severe mitral insufficiency suggestive of an unknown rheumatic disease. She was managed with noninvasive ventilation, loop diuretics, vasodilators, thromboprophylaxis, head-end elevation, and fluid restriction with progressive improving. Conclusions: Hemodynamic changes in pregnant patients with previously silent cardiac disease may pose a challenge and cause post-partum dyspnea. This scenario requires a timely and multidisciplinary approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]