Prevalence and predictors of right ventricular diastolic dysfunction in peripartum cardiomyopathy

Background: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of right ventricular diastolic dysfunction (RVDD) and its potential predictors in peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) patients. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out in Nigeria. RVDD was defined and graded using Doppler filling and myocardial tissue Doppler velocities obtained at tricuspid annular level. Results: Forty-three subjects with PPCM and mean age of 26.6 ± 7.0 years were recruited over 6 months. RVDD was found in 30 (69.8 %) subjects, of whom 16 (53.3 %) had grade I, 12 (40.0 %) had grade II and 2 (6.7 %) had grade III severity. RV systolic dysfunction (RVSD), defined as RV fractional area change <35 %, was found in 88.4 %, while combined RVSD and RVDD was found in 58.1 % of patients. Subjects with RVDD had significantly higher tricuspid E/e′ ratio (5.1 ± 2.8 versus 3.5 ± 1.0, p = 0.012) and prevalence of pulmonary hypertension (76.7 versus 46.2 %; p < 0.05), and lower serum selenium concentration (55.6 ± 12.1 versus 72.5 ± 12.0 µg/L, p = 0.001) than those with preserved RV diastolic function. Regression analyses showed serum selenium [odds ratio (OR) = 1.14; 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.0–1.3; p = 0.049] and combined RVSD and pulmonary hypertension (OR = 79.2; CI = 3.9–1593.7; p = 0.004) as the only predictors of RVDD, and serum selenium <70 µg/L increased the odds of RVDD by 6.67-fold (CI = 1.18–37.78; p = 0.032). Conclusions: Both RVDD and RVSD were common in PPCM patients. Selenium deficiency and combined RVSD and pulmonary hypertension seemed to be the only determinants of RVDD in this small cohort, a finding that needs verification in a larger sample of patients.