Peripartum Cardiomyopathy: Understanding pathophysiology, improving diagnosis and therapy in a cardiac disease common in African women
Submitted by
University of Cape Town.
Summary of the impact:
New Medication for Peripartum Cardiomyopathy:
Based on her collaborative, basic science, translational research, Prof. Karen Sliwa discovered a novel pathomechanism, leading to peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM), a condition common in African women, with a mortality of 10-15%. Her clinical research on pathways of oxidative stress and cardiac signalling in animal and humans led to a new therapeutic option – namely the use of bromocriptine – and a reduction in morbidity and mortality.
She carried out the first clinical pilot trial on this new therapy (Sliwa et al. Circulation 2010) and her findings have, over the past 14 years, been confirmed by other groups. A position paper, led by Karen Sliwa as the senior author, included this new medication as a recommendation (Bauersachs et al. Eur J Heart Fail. 2019). It has also been listed in the European Society of Cardiology Guidelines in Cardiac Disease in Pregnancy 2018, as a therapeutic option which needs to be considered. Globally this affordable medication is now commonly used. A global study in Peripartum Cardiomyopathy with more than 700 patients from more than 40 countries, led by Prof. K. Sliwa demonstrated that patients diagnosed with PPCM and treated with bromocriptine had a significantly better survival (data currently submitted as Late Braking Trial at European Society Congress of Cardiology Congress, London, September 2024). Young women, diagnosed with PPCM can now be treated with an affordable a disease-specific therapy.