Acute Cardiac Failure in a Pregnant Woman due to Thyrotoxic Crisis

• Main Authors: Nao Okuda, Mutsuo Onodera, Yumiko Tsunano, Emiko Nakataki, Jun Oto, Hideaki Imanaka, Masaji Nishimura
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2012-01-01
• Series: Case Reports in Cardiology
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/393580

Introduction. Cardiac failure during pregnancy is usually related to preeclampsia/eclampsia, rarely to hyperthyroidism. While hyperthyroidism can easily lead to hypertensive cardiac failure and may harm the fetus, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish hyperthyroidism from normal pregnancy. Case Presentation. We encountered a case of 41-year-old pregnant woman with hypertensive cardiac failure. Because we initially diagnosed as pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, Caesarian section was performed. However, her symptoms still persisted after delivery. After thyroid function test results taken on the day of admission were obtained on the fourth day, we could diagnose that her cardiac failure was caused by thyrotoxic crisis. Conclusions. Hypertensive cardiac failure due to hyperthyroidism during pregnancy is rare and difficult to diagnose because of similar presentation of normal pregnancy. However, physicians should be aware of the risks posed by hyperthyroidism during pregnancy.