Anesthetic considerations for cesarean section in the parturient with familial cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a heart muscle disease characterized by ventricular dilatation and impaired systolic cardiac function. DCM is defined by the presence of : a) fractional myocardial shortening less then 25% (> 2 SD) and/or ejection fraction less than 45% (> 2 SD) ; and b) left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) greater than 117% excluding any known cause of myocardial disease. Familial dilated cardiomyopathy (FDC) accounts for 20-48% of all DCM cases, and is defined by the presence of two or more affected relatives with DCM meeting the above diagnostic criteria or a relative of a DCM patient with unexplained sudden death before the age of 35 years. We herein present the first reported case in the literature of a parturient with PDC undergoing urgent Cesarean section (secondary to worsening cardiac function) and briefly highlight anesthetic considerations for parturients with this heart condition.