Severe Preeclampsia With Heart Failure: A Cardiac Rehabilitation Case Report

Authors

Han Yang, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
Yi-Ching Lai, Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
Chien-Chu Huang, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
Nai-Hsin Meng, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, TaiwanFollow

Abstract

This study presents a case of a 37-year-old woman who developed severe preeclampsia with heart failure at the 36th week of her first pregnancy, with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 25%. After delivering her twin babies via emergency Cesarian section, she was successfully weaned off mechanical ventilation and discharged in two weeks. We prescribed cardiac rehabilitation and assessed her functional recovery using cardiopulmonary exercise testing. During the 8 months after the delivery, we observed improvements in the left ventricular ejection fraction, peak oxygen uptake, anaerobic threshold, and oxygen uptake efficiency slope although improvement in oxygen pulse was limited. Our results suggest that proper medication and cardiac rehabilitation could help to improve the cardiac function and exercise capacity for a patient with pregnancy-associated heart failure.

Recommended Citation

Yang, Han; Lai, Yi-Ching; Huang, Chien-Chu; and Meng, Nai-Hsin (2024) "Severe Preeclampsia With Heart Failure: A Cardiac Rehabilitation Case Report," Rehabilitation Practice and Science: Vol. 2024: Iss. 2, Article 4.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6315/3005-3846.2240
Available at: https://rps.researchcommons.org/journal/vol2024/iss2/4