PPCM is the Silent Killer for Maternal Mortality
LOS ANGELES, CA, May 21, 2021 /24-7PressRelease/ — “It was incredibly frustrating; I wanted to be the pregnant woman that would go from a yoga class straight to the delivery room. Unfortunately, until you experience pregnancy complications, you can’t imagine how difficult it is,” PPCM Fund founder Lindsay Peterson says of her near-death experience.
Three months after her son was born, after suffering three consecutive cardiac arrests within 24 hours, Peterson was diagnosed with PPCM or Peripartum Cardiomyopathy. Treatment required her to spend time in a hypothermic coma and led doctors to implant a defibrillator.
“If my OBGYN had given me the NT-PRO BNP test, they could have cured me as early as ten weeks into my pregnancy,” says Lindsay. The tests’ high detection rate is just one of the many reasons why she feels it should be added to the list of commonly given prenatal tests.
Lindsay and her team are working on getting mandatory testing for women before and after delivery for PPCM. Women shouldn’t be dying from something preventable. Women shouldn’t be dying. We need to spend more resources on pregnancy and postpartum services. Women need the support after giving birth. They should never have to argue about needing support postpartum.
Is PPCM a hereditary disease?
PPCM causes your heart to become enlarged around the time of your delivery. This enlargement weakens your heart muscle, making pumping blood difficult and potentially leading to heart failure. Although there appear to be a few genetic indicators, doctors believe PPCM is a disease that can happen to a woman of any race or age regardless of their health. Most studies are currently in their early stages but African-American women have a higher death rate in the US due to heart-related diseases than in other demographics. Others who are potentially at higher risk for infection are those that tend to retain fluid. Often very fit/slim women or even those with a petite build don’t show any signs at all, which is why PPCM is called “The Silent Killer”.
Lindsay says her goal is to assist and save as many women and families as possible. PPCM Funds mission is to eradicate Peripartum Cardiomyopathy, by advocating, educating, and furthering research on the disease and aiding in its prevention. Dr. James Fett and the iPAC lab have done their investigations and research to prove no woman should ever die from PPCM. You can find their research at PPCMFund.com.
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