Abstract

Some of the indications to perform a legal autopsy in Costa Rica, are the sudden deaths as well as judicial inquiries to investigate malpractices causes; in many cases these autopsies are of women in their last pregnancy month or in their post-natal period, specially in the first 5 months. This article search to learn aspects of a specific diagnosis that has to be thought during the forensic analysis of an autopsy of women in the period between the last month of gestation and the first 5 months postpartum: the peripartum cardiomyopathy. This pathology is an unusual kind of dilated cardiomyopathy with a high morbidity and mortality, and so is transcendental to know about it. The goal of this article is to learn about its pathophysiology as well as its clinical manifestations and diagnosis inside the forensic approach.

Key words: peripartum cardiomyopathy; autopsy in pregnant woman; heart failure postpartum