Peripartum Cardiomyopathy Presenting with Predominant Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction: Efficacy of Bromocriptine
Figure 3
Left ventricular diastolic function at baseline and at the 6-week followup. Left column: Baseline examination. Doppler pattern of transmitral flow (a), Tissue Doppler pattern of left ventricular (LV) motion recorded at the junction with the septal mitral annulus (b), and color Tissue Doppler velocities of multiple LV myocardial segments ((c): yellow, basal septum; turquoise, middle septum; red, basal lateral; green, middle lateral). Severe reduction of peak early diastolic myocardial velocity (Em) and considerable early diastolic dyssynchrony between segments (dotted arrow) were present. Right column: corresponding images obtained after 6 weeks of therapy with bromocriptine. Transmitral Doppler pattern was substantially unchanged (d), whereas a considerable increase in (e) and a reduction in early diastolic dyssynchrony ((f), dotted arrow) were observed. Also note the different velocity scales between (c) and (f), and the increase in early diastolic velocities of all myocardial segments at 6-week followup compared to baseline. A = peak late diastolic transmitral flow; = peak late diastolic myocardial velocity; E = peak early diastolic transmitral flow; = peak systolic myocardial velocity.
