This is the third episode of a special podcast series on obstetric critical care.  Although I am the sole host of this podcast, the content was reviewed and edited by Dr. Elizabeth Garchar, MD, FACOG.  She is an OB/GYN and Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) specialist who has a particular interest in obstetric critical care.  She is also unique in that she flies regularly with our critical care transport teams and acts as one of our Assistant Medical Directors for the flight program.  So, Dr. Garchar has unique insight into managing this population in transport.   The topic of this podcast is peripartum cardiomyopathy.  Acquired cardiac conditions in otherwise healthy pregnant patients can be a serious and life-threatening condition.  Sometimes, critical care transport crews are called to transport pregnant or recently postpartum females with severe, acquired cardiomyopathy or in frank cardiogenic shock.  This podcast reviews the presentation, underlying pathophysiology, and management of this patient population.     References    1.          Arany Z, Elkayam U. Peripartum Cardiomyopathy. Circulation. Apr 5 2016;133(14):1397-409. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.020491 2.          Cherubin S, Peoples T, Gillard J, Lakhal-Littleton S, Kurinczuk JJ, Nair M. Systematic review and meta-analysis of prolactin and iron deficiency in peripartum cardiomyopathy. Open Heart. Oct 2020;7(2)doi:10.1136/openhrt-2020-001430 3.          Cooper LT, Mather PJ, Alexis JD, et al. Myocardial recovery in peripartum cardiomyopathy: prospective comparison with recent onset cardiomyopathy in men and nonperipartum women. J Card Fail. Jan 2012;18(1):28-33. doi:10.1016/j.cardfail.2011.09.009 4.          Davis MB, Arany Z, McNamara DM, Goland S, Elkayam U. Peripartum Cardiomyopathy: JACC State-of-the-Art Review. J Am Coll Cardiol. Jan 21 2020;75(2):207-221. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2019.11.014 5.          Dinic V, Markovic D, Savic N, Kutlesic M, Jankovic RJ. Peripartum Cardiomyopathy in Intensive Care Unit: An Update. Front Med (Lausanne). 2015;2:82. doi:10.3389/fmed.2015.00082 6.          Djordjevic I, Rahmanian P, Zeriouh M, et al. Treatment of cardiogenic shock in peripartum cardiomyopathy: Case series from a tertiary ECMO center. J Card Surg. Jan 2020;35(1):254-257. doi:10.1111/jocs.14324 7.          Elkayam U, Akhter MW, Singh H, et al. Pregnancy-associated cardiomyopathy: clinical characteristics and a comparison between early and late presentation. Circulation. Apr 26 2005;111(16):2050-5. doi:10.1161/01.CIR.0000162478.36652.7E 8.          Felker GM, Thompson RE, Hare JM, et al. Underlying causes and long-term survival in patients with initially unexplained cardiomyopathy. N Engl J Med. Apr 13 2000;342(15):1077-84. doi:10.1056/nejm200004133421502 9.          Gorog DA, Vilahur G. Peripartum cardiomyopathy: can the link between prolactin and PAI-1 provide a clue? Cardiovasc Res. Sep 1 2020;116(11):1791-1793. doi:10.1093/cvr/cvaa109 10.        Habedank D, Kuhnle Y, Elgeti T, Dudenhausen JW, Haverkamp W, Dietz R. Recovery from peripartum cardiomyopathy after treatment with bromocriptine. Eur J Heart Fail. Nov 2008;10(11):1149-51. doi:10.1016/j.ejheart.2008.09.001 11.        Hilfiker-Kleiner D, Haghikia A, Nonhoff J, Bauersachs J. Peripartum cardiomyopathy: current management and future perspectives. Eur Heart J. May 7 2015;36(18):1090-7. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehv009 12.        Hilfiker-Kleiner D, Kaminski K, Podewski E, et al. A cathepsin D-cleaved 16 kDa form of prolactin mediates postpartum cardiomyopathy. Cell. Feb 9 2007;128(3):589-600. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2006.12.036 13.        Iorgoveanu C, Zaghloul A, Ashwath M. Peripartum cardiomyopathy: a review. Heart Fail Rev. Nov 2021;26(6):1287-1296. doi:10.1007/s10741-020-10061-x 14.        Kim MJ, Shin MS. Practical management of peripartum cardiomyopathy. Korean J Intern Med. May 2017;32(3):393-403. doi:10.3904/kjim.2016.360 15.