Bromocriptine treatment in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy and right ventricular dysfunction

Peripartum cardiomyopathy: A review

Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a rare type of heart failure manifesting towards the end of pregnancy or in the months following delivery, in the absence of any other cause of heart failure. There is a wide range of incidence across countries reflecting different population demographics, uncertainty over definitions and under-reporting. Race, ethnicity, multiparity and advanced maternal age are considered important risk factors for the disease. Its etiopathogenesis is incompletely understood and is likely multifactorial, including hemodynamic stresses of pregnancy, vasculo-hormonal factors, inflammation, immunology and genetics. Affected women present with heart failure secondary to reduced left ventricular systolic function (LVEF <45%) and often with associated phenotypes such as LV dilatation, biatrial dilatation, reduced systolic function, impaired diastolic function, and increased pulmonary pressure. Electrocardiography, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, endomyocardial biopsy, and certain blood biomarkers aid in diagnosis and management. Treatment for peripartum cardiomyopathy depends on the stage of pregnancy or postpartum, disease severity and whether the woman is breastfeeding. It includes standard pharmacological therapies for heart failure, within the safety restrictions for pregnancy and lactation. Targeted therapies such as bromocriptine have shown promise in early, small studies, with large definitive trials currently underway. Failure of medical interventions may require mechanical support and transplantation in severe cases. Peripartum cardiomyopathy carries a high mortality rate of up to 10% and a high risk of relapse in subsequent pregnancies, but over half of women present normalization of LV function within a year of diagnosis.

Peripartum Cardiomyopathy: Current Understanding of Pathophysiology, Diagnostic Workup, Management, and Outcomes

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a relatively rare, potentially life-threatening, idiopathic form of cardiomyopathy that affects previously healthy young women during late pregnancy or in the early postpartum period and is characterized by left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in the absence of any other identifiable cardiac causes. Morbidity and mortality with PPCM are remarkably high and it continues to be one of the leading causes of maternal death. Although remarkable advances have been made in our understanding of PPCM in the last few decades, unanswered questions remain regarding its pathophysiology, diagnostic workup, and management options. In this article, we will complete an updated, comprehensive review of PPCM, including the epidemiology and risk factors, proposed etiology, presentation and complications, management, prognostic indicators and outcomes. In addition, we will identify current challenges and gaps in knowledge.

Review of Randomized Controlled Trials in Patients with Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

INTRODUCTION

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare but potentially lifethreatening disease, defined as idiopathic cardiomyopathy occurring towards the end of pregnancy or in the months following delivery, abortion or miscarriage. We aim to raise awareness of this condition and give an overview of current knowledge as well as an insight and comparison of clinical trials focusing on randomized controlled trials.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Systematic literature searches were conducted using PubMed up to December 2021. Studies published involving clinical trials and interventions in women with PPCM after 1970 were selected.

RESULTS

Randomized controlled trials have shown that the addition of Bromocriptine to standardized heart failure therapy improves outcome in terms of recovery of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF), symptoms and death. Bromocriptine 2.5 mg twice daily for two weeks followed by 2.5 mg once daily for six weeks had the best trend and outcome. The addition of Levosimendan to standardized heart failure therapy had no effect, whereas the addition of Selenium improved heart failure symptoms but did not reduce risk in terms of unrecovered LVEF or death. One prospective study showed potential usage of TNF-alfa inhibitors, but was never tried in a randomized clinical trial.

CONCLUSION

PPCM is a rare and potentially fatal disease. New insights on pathophysiology, genetics and clinical studies, particularly randomized controlled trials, have shown that the addition of Bromocriptine has a beneficial effect in terms of improved LVEF and death. However, some clinical studies have shown promising results using anti-inflammatory pharmacological agents with an improvement in LVEF. We suggest that targeting an anti-inflammatory route may prove beneficial in patients with PPCM. However, further research is highly warranted.

Bromocriptine-QR Therapy Reduces Sympathetic Tone and Ameliorates a Pro-Oxidative/Pro-Inflammatory Phenotype in Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells and Plasma of Type 2 Diabetes Subjects

Bromocriptine-QR is a sympatholytic dopamine D2 agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes that has demonstrated rapid (within 1 year) substantial reductions in adverse cardiovascular events in this population by as yet incompletely delineated mechanisms. However, a chronic state of elevated sympathetic nervous system activity and central hypodopaminergic function has been demonstrated to potentiate an immune system pro-oxidative/pro-inflammatory condition and this immune phenotype is known to contribute significantly to the advancement of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Therefore, the possibility exists that bromocriptine-QR therapy may reduce adverse cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetes subjects via attenuation of this underlying chronic pro-oxidative/pro-inflammatory state. The present study was undertaken to assess the impact of bromocriptine-QR on a wide range of immune pro-oxidative/pro-inflammatory biochemical pathways and genes known to be operative in the genesis and progression of CVD. Inflammatory peripheral blood mononuclear cell biology is both a significant contributor to cardiovascular disease and also a marker of the body’s systemic pro-inflammatory status. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of 4-month circadian-timed (within 2 h of waking in the morning) bromocriptine-QR therapy (3.2 mg/day) in type 2 diabetes subjects whose glycemia was not optimally controlled on the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist on (i) gene expression status (via qPCR) of a wide array of mononuclear cell pro-oxidative/pro-inflammatory genes known to participate in the genesis and progression of CVD (OXR1, NRF2, NQO1, SOD1, SOD2, CAT, GSR, GPX1, GPX4, GCH1, HMOX1, BiP, EIF2α, ATF4, PERK, XBP1, ATF6, CHOP, GSK3β, NFkB, TXNIP, PIN1, BECN1, TLR2, TLR4, TLR10, MAPK8, NLRP3, CCR2, GCR, L-selectin, VCAM1, ICAM1) and (ii) humoral measures of sympathetic tone (norepinephrine and normetanephrine), whole-body oxidative stress (nitrotyrosine, TBARS), and pro-inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-18, MCP-1, prolactin, C-reactive protein [CRP]). Relative to pre-treatment status, 4 months of bromocriptine-QR therapy resulted in significant reductions of mRNA levels in PBMC endoplasmic reticulum stress-unfolded protein response effectors [GRP78/BiP (34%), EIF2α (32%), ATF4 (29%), XBP1 (25%), PIN1 (14%), BECN1 (23%)], oxidative stress response proteins [OXR1 (31%), NRF2 (32%), NQO1 (39%), SOD1 (52%), CAT (26%), GPX1 (33%), GPX4 (31%), GCH1 (30%), HMOX1 (40%)], mRNA levels of TLR pro-inflammatory pathway proteins [TLR2 (46%), TLR4 (20%), GSK3β (19%), NFkB (33%), TXNIP (18%), NLRP3 (32%), CCR2 (24%), GCR (28%)], mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cellular receptor proteins CCR2 and GCR by 24% and 28%, and adhesion molecule proteins L-selectin (35%) and VCAM1 (24%). Relative to baseline, bromocriptine-QR therapy also significantly reduced plasma levels of norepinephrine and normetanephrine by 33% and 22%, respectively, plasma pro-oxidative markers nitrotyrosine and TBARS by 13% and 10%, respectively, and pro-inflammatory factors IL-18, MCP1, IL-1β, prolactin, and CRP by 21%,13%, 12%, 42%, and 45%, respectively. These findings suggest a unique role for circadian-timed bromocriptine-QR sympatholytic dopamine agonist therapy in reducing systemic low-grade sterile inflammation to thereby reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines

AIM

The "2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure" replaces the "2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure" and the "2017 ACC/AHA/HFSA Focused Update of the 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure." The 2022 guideline is intended to provide patient-centric recommendations for clinicians to prevent, diagnose, and manage patients with heart failure.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted from May 2020 to December 2020, encompassing studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted on human subjects that were published in English from MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, the Cochrane Collaboration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other relevant databases. Additional relevant clinical trials and research studies, published through September 2021, were also considered. This guideline was harmonized with other American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines published through December 2021. Structure: Heart failure remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The 2022 heart failure guideline provides recommendations based on contemporary evidence for the treatment of these patients. The recommendations present an evidence-based approach to managing patients with heart failure, with the intent to improve quality of care and align with patients' interests. Many recommendations from the earlier heart failure guidelines have been updated with new evidence, and new recommendations have been created when supported by published data. Value statements are provided for certain treatments with high-quality published economic analyses.

2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure

AIM

The "2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure" replaces the "2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure" and the "2017 ACC/AHA/HFSA Focused Update of the 2013 ACCF/AHA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure." The 2022 guideline is intended to provide patient-centric recommendations for clinicians to prevent, diagnose, and manage patients with heart failure.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search was conducted from May 2020 to December 2020, encompassing studies, reviews, and other evidence conducted on human subjects that were published in English from MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, the Cochrane Collaboration, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and other relevant databases. Additional relevant clinical trials and research studies, published through September 2021, were also considered. This guideline was harmonized with other American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guidelines published through December 2021.

STRUCTURE

Heart failure remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally. The 2022 heart failure guideline provides recommendations based on contemporary evidence for the treatment of these patients. The recommendations present an evidence-based approach to managing patients with heart failure, with the intent to improve quality of care and align with patients' interests. Many recommendations from the earlier heart failure guidelines have been updated with new evidence, and new recommendations have been created when supported by published data. Value statements are provided for certain treatments with high-quality published economic analyses.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Mechanical Circulatory Support in Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM) Refractory to Medical Management: A Multicenter Study

Background: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare, life-threatening form of heart disease, frequently associated with gene alterations and, in some cases, presenting with advanced heart failure. Little is known about ventricular assist device (VAD) implantation in severe PPCM cases. We describe long-term follow-up of PPCM patients who were resistant to medical therapy and received mechanical circulatory support or heart transplant. Methods and results: A total of 13 patients were included with mean follow-up of eight years. Mean age of PPCM onset was 33.7 ± 7.7 years. All patients were initially treated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and beta-blockers, and four received bromocriptine. Overall, five patients received VADs (three biventricular, two isolated left ventricular) at median 27 days (range: 3 to 150) following childbirth. Two patients developed drive line infection. Due to the short support time, none of those patients had a stroke or VAD thrombosis. In total, five patients underwent heart transplantation, of which four previously had implanted VADs. Median time to transplantation from PPCM onset was 140 days (range: 43 to 776), and time to transplantation from VAD implantation were 7, 40, 132, and 735 days, respectively. All patients survived until most recent follow up, with the exception of one patient who died following unrelated abdominal surgery two years after PPCM recovery. Conclusions: In patients with severe, life-threatening PPCM refractory to medical management, mechanical circulatory support with or without heart transplantation is a safe therapeutic option.

A Systematic Review of the Utility of Bromocriptine in Acute Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

In formerly healthy females, acute heart failure (HF) of an unknown cause that develops during the last weeks of gestation or in the first months after childbirth is known as peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). This study aimed to establish the therapeutic value of combining bromocriptine with conventional HF treatment on left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), death, thromboembolic events, left ventricular (LV) dysfunction recurrence in subsequent pregnancies in PPCM women, and newborn children's outcomes. We conducted a systematic review to find clinical studies that described the utility of bromocriptine in addition to conventional HF treatment compared to conventional HF treatment only in the management of acute PPCM. Four databases comprising records from July 10, 2001, to July 10, 2021, were analyzed, including PubMed (MEDLINE), Google Scholar, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library. We discovered 4,717 potentially eligible records across all the databases. According to our eligibility criteria, we included six studies consisting of 263 patients in this review. Bromocriptine combined with conventional HF therapy led to an 11.37% increase in LVEF (mean difference: 11.37; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 9.55-13.19; p-value = 0.001) after six months compared to conventional HF treatment only. Notably, bromocriptine combined with conventional HF treatment reduced mortality associated with PPCM, and no thromboembolism events were recorded in the 263 patients. PPCM is a severe condition affecting women globally. In this study, the combination of bromocriptine with conventional HF treatment enhanced the LVEF of women with acute PPCM and their clinical outcomes.

Risk stratification and management of women with cardiomyopathy/heart failure planning pregnancy or presenting during/after pregnancy: a position statement from the Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology Study Group on Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

This position paper focusses on the pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of women diagnosed with a cardiomyopathy, or at risk of heart failure (HF), who are planning to conceive or present with (de novo or previously unknown) HF during or after pregnancy. This includes the heterogeneous group of heart muscle diseases such as hypertrophic, dilated, arrhythmogenic right ventricular and non-classified cardiomyopathies, left ventricular non-compaction, peripartum cardiomyopathy, Takotsubo syndrome, adult congenital heart disease with HF, and patients with right HF. Also, patients with a history of chemo-/radiotherapy for cancer or haematological malignancies need specific pre-, during and post-pregnancy assessment and counselling. We summarize the current knowledge about pathophysiological mechanisms, including gene mutations, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and medical and device management, as well as risk stratification. Women with a known diagnosis of a cardiomyopathy will often require continuation of drug therapy, which has the potential to exert negative effects on the foetus. This position paper assists in balancing benefits and detrimental effects.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy

Peripartum cardiomyopathy is now increasingly recognized as a cause of heart failure in the later months of pregnancy and early postpartum period. Clinical diagnosis may be challenging as it closely resembles several common medical and obstetric complications. Complex pathogenesis, unpredictable onset, staggered recovery, and unanticipated fetomaternal risks pose unique challenge to clinicians. Prevalence seems to vary with race, geographic location, and diagnostic criteria. The presence of multiple risk factors substantially elevates the risk of PPCM. Transthoracic echocardiographic examination can exclude the majority of the mimickers. Symptomatic presentation is initially limited to, varying grades of low cardiac output syndrome. Rarely, PPCM begins with decompensated heart failure and cardiovascular collapse. Guideline-directed medical therapy involves graded initiation and titration of heart failure medications while ensuring the fetal and neonatal safety. Anesthetic and obstetric management should be individualized to improve fetomaternal outcomes. However, emergent cesarean delivery may be required in women with decompensated heart failure and cardiovascular collapse. An early institution of mechanical circulatory support has shown to improve outcome. Bromocriptine and other experimental drugs designed to target pathogenic pathway have yielded mixed results. A further change in approach to management requires a comprehensive understanding of pathophysiology and fetomaternal safety profiles of heart failure medications.

Clinical and echocardiographic predictors of outcomes in patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy: A single centre, six month follow-up study

INTRODUCTION

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is an important cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. But, there is a paucity of prospective data on outcomes and prognostic markers in patients receiving contemporary evidence-based therapy, particularly in developing countries.

METHODS

This was a single centre, prospective, cohort study on 43 PPCM patients who were followed for 6 months. The primary endpoint was a composite incidence of decompensation related re-hospitalization, all-cause death, and poor recovery (defined as left ventricular ejection fraction, LVEF: <45% at 6 months). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the independent predictors and Kaplan-Meier plots for event (re-hospitalization or death) free survival were computed at their optimal cut-offs.

RESULTS

Mean LVEF at presentation was 34.7%. Two patients died during index hospitalization but there were no deaths during follow-up and 63.4% of patients had full LV recovery after discharge. 32.5% of the study population experienced the composite endpoint with high left atrial volume index (LAVi), and low right ventricular fractional area change (RVFAC) at presentation as independent predictors. Use of Inotropic therapy during index hospitalization (with dobutamine or levosimendan) and bromocriptine therapy were not associated with better outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

At the end of 6 months after PPCM diagnosis, about 61% of patients had full LV functional recovery with a mortality rate of 4.7%. RVFAC (<31.4% with 86% accuracy) and LAVi (>29.6 ml/m² with 72% accuracy) at presentation but not LVEF, predicts poor outcomes. Presence of both these risk factors at index hospitalization was associated with a significantly lower event free survival compared to patients without these predictors.

The Role of Multimodality Cardiovascular Imaging in Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

The burden of pregnancy-related heart disease has dramatically increased over the last decades due to the increasing age at first pregnancy and higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and obesity. Pregnancy is associated with physiological changes in the cardiovascular system, including hemodynamic, metabolic, and hormonal adaptations to meet the increased metabolic demands of the mother and fetus. It has been postulated that pregnancy may act as a cardiovascular stress test to identify women at high risk for heart disease, where the inability to adequately adapt to the physiologic stress of pregnancy may reveal the presence of genetic susceptibility to cardiovascular disease or accelerate the phenotypic expression of both inherited and acquired heart diseases, such as peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). PPCM is a rare and incompletely understood clinical condition. Despite recent advances in the understanding of its pathogenesis, PPCM is not attributable to a well-defined pathological mechanism, and therefore, its diagnosis still relies on the exclusion of overlapping dilated phenotypes. Cardiac imaging plays a key role in any peripartum woman with signs and symptoms of heart failure in establishing the diagnosis, ruling out life-threatening complications, guiding therapy and conveying prognostic information. Echocardiography represents the first-line imaging technique, given its robust diagnostic yield and its favorable cost-effectiveness. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance is a biologically safe high-throughput modality that allows accurate morpho-functional assessment of the cardiovascular system in addition to the unique asset of myocardial tissue characterization as a pivotal piece of information in the pathophysiological puzzle of PPCM. In this review, we will highlight current evidence on the role of multimodality imaging in the differential diagnosis, prognostic assessment, and understanding of the pathophysiological basis of PPCM.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy: basic mechanisms and hope for new therapies

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a life-threatening cardiomyopathy characterized by acute or slow progression of left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction (LV ejection fraction of &lt;45%) late in pregnancy, during delivery, or in the first postpartum months, in women with no other identifiable causes of heart failure. PPCM patients display variable phenotypes and risk factor profiles, pointing to involvement of multiple mechanisms in the pathogenesis of the disease. The higher risk for PPCM in women with African ancestry, the prevalence of gene variants associated with cardiomyopathies, and the high variability in onset and disease progression in PPCM patients also indicate multiple mechanisms at work. Experimental data have shown that different factors can induce and drive PPCM, including inflammation and immunity, pregnancy hormone impairment, catecholamine stress, defective cAMP-PKA, and G-protein-coupled-receptor signalling, and genetic variants. However, several of these mechanisms may merge into a common major pathway, which includes unbalanced oxidative stress and the cleavage of the nursing hormone prolactin (PRL) into an angiostatic, pro-apoptotic, and pro-inflammatory 16 kDa-PRL fragment, resulting in subsequent vascular damage and heart failure. Based on this common pathway, potential disease-specific biomarkers and therapies have emerged. Despite commonalities, the variation in aetiology and mechanisms poses challenges for the diagnosis, treatment, and management of the disease. This review summarizes current knowledge on the clinical presentation of PPCM in the context of recent experimental research. It discusses the challenge to develop disease-specific biomarkers in the context of rapid changing physiology in the peripartum phase, and outlines possible future treatment and management strategies for PPCM patients.

Cardiomyopathy and pregnancy

Cardiomyopathy is a group of disorders in which the heart muscle is structurally and functionally abnormal in the absence of other diseases that could cause observed myocardial abnormality. The most common cardiomyopathies are hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy. Rare types are arrhythmogenic right ventricular, restrictive, Takotsubo and left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathies. This review of cardiomyopathies in pregnancy shows that peripartum cardiomyopathy is the most common cardiomyopathy in pregnancy. Peripartum cardiomyopathy develops most frequently in the month before or after partum, whereas dilated cardiomyopathy often is known already or develops in the second trimester. Mortality in peripartum cardiomyopathy varies from <2% to 50%. Few reports on dilated cardiomyopathy and pregnancy exist, with only a limited number of patients. Ventricular arrhythmias, heart failure, stroke and death are found in 39%-60% of high-risk patients. However, patients with modest left ventricular dysfunction and good functional class tolerated pregnancy well. Previous studies on >700 pregnancies in 500 women with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy showed that prognosis was generally good, even though three deaths were reported in high-risk patients. Complications include different types of supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias, heart failure and ischaemic stroke. Recent studies on 200 pregnancies in 100 women with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy have reported symptoms, including heart failure in 18%-33% of pregnancies. Ventricular tachycardia was found in 0%-33% of patients and syncope in one patient. Information on rare cardiomyopathies is sparse and only presented in case reports. Close monitoring by multidisciplinary teams in referral centres that counsel patients before conception and follow them throughout gestation is recommended.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy: An analysis of clinical profiles and outcomes from a tertiary care centre in southern India

Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a syndrome of maternal heart failure with decreased left ventricular ejection fraction affecting maternal and fetal well-being. We analysed clinical profiles and outcomes in women with peripartum cardiomyopathy enrolled retrospectively from a tertiary care centre in southern India (1 January 2008-31 December 2014). The incidence of peripartum cardiomyopathy was one case per 1541 live births. Fifty-four women with a mean age of 25.5 years and mean gestational age of 35.4 weeks were recruited; 35 were primigravidae. Maternal and fetal deaths occurred in 9.3% and 24.1% of subjects, respectively. Mild-to-moderate maternal anaemia (80-110 g/L) was associated with fetal mortality (p = 0.02). Reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (<30%, p = 0.04) and cardiogenic shock (p = 0.01) were significantly associated with adverse maternal outcomes. Forty per cent of women were followed up after 24.2 ± 17.7 months, and in these women a significant increase in left ventricular ejection fraction was seen (mean 16.4%, p < 0.01); all were asymptomatic. Peripartum cardiomyopathy with poor left ventricular ejection fraction and shock is associated with adverse maternal outcomes, while non-severe maternal anaemia predisposes to adverse fetal outcomes. Significant left ventricular ejection fraction recovery occurred on follow-up.

Role of pregnancy hormones and hormonal interaction on the maternal cardiovascular system: a literature review

Hormones have a vital duty in the conservation of physiological cardiovascular function during pregnancy. Alterations in oestrogen, progesterone and prolactin levels are associated with changes in the cardiovascular system to support the growing foetus and counteract pregnancy stresses. Pregnancy hormones are, however, also linked to numerous pathophysiological outcomes on the cardiovascular system. The expression and effects of the three main pregnancy hormones (oestrogen, prolactin and progesterone) vary depending on the gestation period. However, the reaction of a target cell also depends on the abundance of hormone receptors and impacts put forth by other hormones. Hormonal interaction may be synergistic, antagonistic or permissive. It is crucial to explore the cross talk of pregnancy hormones during gestation, as this may have a greater impact on the overall changes to the cardiovascular system.

Bromocriptine Use in Peripartum Cardiomyopathy: Review of Cases

Objective  This study is to review published cases of peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) treated with bromocriptine and outline pros and cons of the treatment strategy. Data Sources  Data were collected from PubMed/MedLine, ClinicalTrials.gov; the years 2007 to 2018 were searched for English-language articles. Search terms: "bromocriptine and peripartum cardiomyopathy", "bromocriptine and cardiomyopathy." Methods of Study Selection  This search strategy yielded 171 articles. After excluding duplicates, 86 studies were reviewed. Sixty-one articles involving the treatment of PPCMP were included, and of these, 17 were case reports of patients with PPCMP treated with bromocriptine; these studies were included in this review. Tabulation, Integration, and Results  Seventeen of these articles were case reports of patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy treated with bromocriptine that were included. Conclusion  Bromocriptine seems to be a promising treatment, there is currently insufficient evidence for universal utilization of bromocriptine for all patients with PPCMP. Addition of bromocriptine to the standard heart failure therapy should be individualized.