Pregnancy in the patient with Eisenmenger's syndrome.

Overview

Eisenmenger's syndrome occurs when a large congenital or surgically created shunt between the left and right sides of the heart causes an increase in pulmonary vascular resistance that equals or surpasses systemic resistance, resulting in a reversal of the shunt from a left-to-right shunt to a right-to-left or bi-directional shunt. The maternal mortality rate of pregnancy in the presence of Eisenmenger's syndrome is reported to be as high as 50-65% with cesarean section. We present the case of a 32-year-old woman with Eisenmenger's syndrome who gave birth at 29 weeks of gestation via C-section to a healthy baby boy, and we review the literature regarding the management of such patients.