[Peripartum cardiomyopathy with antiphospholipid antibody: a case report].

A 32-year-old woman tested positive for lupus anticoagulant when she had fever of unknown origin at 18 weeks of pregnancy. Sixteen days after a normal delivery at 35 weeks, she developed dyspnea and was hospitalized with heart failure. Chest radiography showed severe pulmonary edema. Echocardiography showed dilation and diffuse hypokinesis of the left ventricle. The diagnosis was peripartum cardiomyopathy. The patient responded to diuretic and vasodilator therapy. Endomyocardial biopsy revealed mild myocardial degeneration and interstitial fibrosis. Heart failure due to coronary microthrombosis has been indicated in patients with antiphospholipid antibodies, suggesting such a relationship in this case.