Heart Failure in Pregnancy: Don’t Go Breaking My Heart

The goal of this session is to provide a comprehensive overview of the approach to patients with existing heart failure who desire pregnancy, as well as the diagnostic approach to new-onset heart failure during pregnancy. The session will include a review of existing risk scores and appropriate counseling to determine whether pregnancy is safe or high-risk.

Additionally, there will be a discussion of peripartum cardiomyopathy as well as other cardiomyopathies that may be diagnosed during pregnancy. Finally, the session will conclude with a discussion of considerations surrounding pregnancy in heart transplant recipients.

Learning Objectives

• Understand existing cardio-obstetrics risk scores and how they pertain to women with pre-existing heart failure.
• Generate a differential diagnosis for de novo heart failure in pregnancy beyond peripartum cardiomyopathy.
• Recognize the unique considerations surrounding pregnancy in heart transplant recipients.