una niña de 23 años se enfrenta a una insuficiencia cardíaca congestiva después del embarazo

Layci, de tres meses, es la imagen de un bebé feliz: sonríe a todos, arrulla y es muy consciente de su entorno. Su madre, Brianna Harris, de 23 años, se parece a muchas mujeres jóvenes felices con una nueva niña sana. Sin embargo, las imágenes pueden engañarte.

In spite of those smiles, Brianna is a congestive heart failure patient at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Irving where she attends cardiac rehabilitation classes three days a week. She has peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare type of heart failure that occurs during pregnancy or immediately after.

Brianna’s pregnancy had been normal when she delivered 7 lbs. 3 oz. Talaycia (Layci) on Nov. 8, 2016. But once back home, Brianna started coughing excessively and had to sleep sitting up in order to breathe. Christmas evening, she had trouble making it up the stairs in her home. Brianna took her symptoms seriously and went to a hospital emergency department on diciembre 26.

Several hours and tests later, Brianna learned she had peripartum cardiomyopathy. The condition weakens the heart muscle and causes the heart to become enlarged. The enlarged heart can’t pump blood properly to the rest of the body. About two years earlier, Brianna had lost her older sister, Crystal, to peripartum cardiomyopathy. 

“Life can go from 100 percent to 30 percent very quickly,” Brianna said. “I want to let people know this condition is very serious. It can happen quickly and kill quickly.”

Un cambio de estilo de vida para mejor

En su clase de rehabilitación cardíaca, donde Brianna es definitivamente la participante más joven, hace ejercicio montando una bicicleta estacionaria y caminando en una caminadora. Las enfermeras observan su ritmo cardíaco en monitores. Cada sesión comienza y termina con un control de la presión arterial.

“I am determined to get back to health,” Brianna said. “I have changed my diet and eat less sodium. I have cut out fast food. I exercise daily.”

Las opciones para tratar la miocardiopatía comienzan con medicamentos. 

"Muchas veces, el músculo cardíaco está realmente aturdido, lo que significa que no está muerto y puede recuperarse", dijo Michael Rothkopf, MD, cardiólogo intervencionista del personal médico del Baylor Scott & White Medical Center - Irving. 

“Ella está mostrando signos de buena recuperación en este momento”.

For some patients, a left ventricular assist device (implantable heart pump) or even a Transplante de corazón may become necessary.

La realidad de la miocardiopatía periparto

According to the American Heart Association, this heart condition affects about 1,000 to 1,300 women in the United States each year. Dr. Rothkopf may see two or three cases each year.

Los síntomas de la miocardiopatía periparto pueden incluir:

• • Latidos rápidos

• • Dolor de pecho

• • Excessive fatigue

• • Cansancio durante la actividad física.

• • Dificultad para respirar

• • Hinchazón de pies y tobillos
  • Aumento de la micción por la noche

If you feel like you are experiencing signs of a heart condition, find a cardiologist at Baylor Scott & White Health.