How I Survived PPCM: My Diagnosis, My Fight, My Healing

What Every New Mother Needs to Know About Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM)

It was the spring of 2019. I never imagined that giving birth… one of life’s most profound moments would nearly cost me my own life. This was my second pregnancy and I had mentally prepared for the expected sleepless nights and emotional ups and downs. Until I heard the words: “You are in heart failure.”

Never in my wildest dreams I thought I would hear those words. Afterall, I was assured by everyone around me that the symptoms I was feeling were related to normal pregnancy symptoms.

After a struggle to receive medical attention, I had learned a new phrase on that fateful date: Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). I am a lover of words; however, I was not loving these words.

The Diagnosis That Changed Everything

Within days of delivering my baby, my body felt… wrong. I was short of breath walking across the room. My legs and feet were swollen. I felt a bone-deep exhaustion that rest didn’t touch. When I lay down at night, it felt like I was drowning in air. I literally felt like I was being strangled. I was extremely scared. 

Everyone around me said, “You’re just tired. It’s normal.” But this wasn’t normal. Eventually, a trip to the ER changed everything.

An echocardiogram revealed my heart’s ejection fraction (EF) had dropped dangerously low. I was in heart failure. Prior to the scan, the blood tests revealed that I was a candidate for heart failure. The diagnosis: Peripartum Cardiomyopathy (PPCM) - a rare, but potentially fatal condition that affects the heart muscle during the last month of pregnancy or in the first five months postpartum.

According to international studies, PPCM affects approximately 1 in every 1,000–4,000 pregnancies. In Canada and worldwide, it is often underdiagnosed, especially in Black and Indigenous women, where delays in care are more frequent and outcomes are poorer.

The Fight for My Life

The days that followed were terrifying. I was suddenly a heart patient - with a newborn… along with my other child to care for. My life was filled with beta blockers, ACE inhibitors, bloodwork, scans and uncertainty.

I debated breastfeeding because of my meds; there was so little information I could find about breastfeeding and this condition. Actually, I could hardly find any information - at all about PPCM. I couldn’t lift more than a few pounds and I could barely stand – and walking took every breath I could muster up.

Photo of my newborn's foot.

There were nights I lay awake, terrified my heart might stop in my sleep. When I could not fight the tiredness anymore, I slept sitting up. But I chose to fight. I started learning everything I could about PPCM. I journaled and joined online communities where women like me were figuring out how to recover.

The Healing Journey: Body, Mind & Spirit

Recovery wasn’t a straight line. Some days, I took two steps forward and three steps back. I had frequent appointments and celebrated small milestones like getting out of the bed without help or walking my block.

Eventually, with the right medication, dietary changs and follow-up care, my ejection fraction improved after a year. I thought to myself: “You did it. Your heart is healing.”

But it wasn’t just physical. I had to heal emotionally. The fear. The guilt. The grief of a postpartum season that didn’t look anything like I’d imagined. What saved me was this: grace. For myself. For my body. For the journey.

What I Want Every Mother to Know

If you're pregnant or recently postpartum and feel like something is off… please listen to your body. PPCM is rare, but not rare enough. And early diagnosis can be the difference between life and death.

Advocate for yourself:

• Ask for a BNP or NT-proBNP blood test

• Request an echocardiogram

• Track your symptoms – write everything down

• Speak up… even if you “look fine”

You are not crazy. You are not weak. You are not alone.

📌 Quick Facts About PPCM

• 1 in 1,000–4,000 pregnancies are affected by PPCM (IJMS, 2024)

• It causes heart failure during or shortly after pregnancy

• Black women have significantly higher risk and worse outcomes

• PPCM can be diagnosed with a BNP test or echocardiogram

• Cardiac conditions are a leading cause of maternal death in Canada

The PPCM Pulse exists to raise awareness, offer support, and amplify voices like mine…and yours.

👉 Share this with someone you love. It might just save a life. work

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