Living Standards of 75 Hospitalized Black African Patients with Peripartum Cardiomyopathy. Study at Sikasso Hospital (Sikasso, Mali)

Definition:Peripartum cardiomyopathy is the onset of heart failure with no identifiable cause within the last month of pregnancy or within 5 months after delivery.
Aims: To study the living standard of patients hospitalized with peripartum cardiomyopathy in Sikasso (Mali).
Method: Inclusion criteria: hospitalized patients with heart failure beginning during the last month of pregnancy or during the five months after delivery, with echocardiography. Known prior heart disease is an exclusion criterion. The evaluation of the living standard is as follows: high, medium, low. The notions of food satiety, intense work during pregnancy, level of schooling are the criteria. This information was obtained by personalized interview in the language of the patients, with their oral agreement.
Results: From March 1, 2019 to February 28, 2021, 1144 patients were hospitalized in the Cardiology department of Sikasso hospital (Sikasso, Mali). The diagnosis of heart failure was made in 456 patients (39.8%). Seventy-five (75) corresponded to the diagnosis of peripartum cardiomyopathy (6.6%). Two out of three patients (65.3%) were of rural origin. Four out of five (77.3%) had 2 or more deliveries at time of diagnosis. A very large majority (92.0%) were homemakers, without salary. The results of the living standard assessment are as follows: high = 6.7%, medium = 32%, low = 61.3%.
Conclusion: A large majority of patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy have a low standard of living and belong to underprivileged social classes. These results confirm identical facts previously reported in publications. The prevention of dilated cardiomyopathy must call upon an improvement in the standard of living, in particular of African women living in rural areas.

Keywords:Peripartum cardiomyopathy; African woman; Living standard; Sikasso