Feb, 22nd 2013 I gave birth to my lovely son. My pregnancy had been pretty normal, better than most I'd even say since I didn't get sick much. However towards the end I did develop carpal tunnel because of the extra fluid, which went away after the birth.

About 3months after I had my son I noticed my heart beat was irregular and quite fast. I would just be sitting there and my heart would be racing as if I were running. Then, instead of slowly slowing down as it normally should, it would just pause strangley then beat irregular.

I was diagnosed with PPCM after an Echo which showed my EJ at 40%. They didn't bother with a stress test because my heart was going so fast they didn't want to push it. I was put on some Metroplol but it brought my blood pressure way way low and made me feel aweful so I didn't take it like I was supposed to. I'm really not a big medication person anyway so I sort of just stopped taking it, although I knew I shouldn't have. The arrythmia did go away after maybe a month or two on the meds which was good. I ended up moving out of state and switching doctors and when I had a new echo my EJ was at 45%. I ended up moving ONCE AGAIN out of state and when I got my most recent echo my EJ was at 50% so we felt like that was healed enough to try for a second baby. I kept asking the doctors whether it was safe to get pregnant again and they all seem to just not have an answer. They said PPCM can come back or even get worse. The way I figured it is that I'm young, 27, and we have a great healthcare system so why should I worry too much?

Now I'm 15wks pregnant with baby number 2 and I notice my heart sometimes is a little fast. Not racing, but i notice it beating a bit fast as rest. This has brought my concerns back and some worry about if I made the right choice to have baby number two but we know this will be our last baby, mostly due to this PPCM and the risks. We really just wanted a sibing for my son and i felt I couldn't just have one! I have another echo coming up and they will surely monitor be throughout the pregnancy and afterwards. So I just want to thank you for being on here and your stories have given me encouragement and support which I don't get from the doctors unfortunately.

*UPDATE*

As of March 9th 2015, I NO LONGER HAVE PPCM!!!!!!!! I couldn't even believe it !!!! I had my last echo and my EF was 55% (40% was lowest) and now that's considered a totally normal heart !!! The only thing is I have some slightly leaky valves and a little murmur but those are fine apparently and genetic. I couldn't believe it he literally told me "YOU DON'T HAVE POSTPARTUM CARDIOMYOPAHY ANYMORE. YOU'RE HEART'S PERFECTLY NORMAL." I had all these questions for him too that weren't relevant anymore like should I get a blood test to see if my heart is going to fail, should I have an epidural or C-section to make my next labor (I'm 24wks pregnant) easier on my heart etc and he said it's all your call because as of now your heart is fine in every way. Of course, it can come back after I give birth but even if it does, I really think I'll be fine, especially since I've read so many stories on here where people's EF was really low and they had fluid and hospitalization and turned out to be alright. WE CAN DO IT LADIES!

(Idk if any of you are spiritual but I literally pray every night for my heart to be healthy and strong and I didn't take medicine really for it so I attribute it to praying honestly.)

My Details

• Date Diagnosed: 15/05/2013
• Child: 2
• Initial EF: 40
• Current EF: 55

Story By Jessica Janusz