PREGNANCY AFTER CARDIAC-SURGERY IN PATIENTS WITH SECONDARY PULMONARY-HYPERTENSION DUE TO A VENTRICULAR SEPTAL-DEFECT

Pulmonary hypertension is defined as pulmonary artery pressure greater than 30/15 mmHg. The etiologies of pulmonary hypertension can be divided into primary and secondary ones. The causes of the latter include long-lasting left-to-right shunts (congenital cardiac defects e.g, ventricular septal defect), pulmonary thromboembolism and severe pulmonary disease (1). Women with pulmonary hypertension often tolerate the physiological changes of pregnancy poorly. We describe the intrapartum management and outcome of two patients who had undergone successful surgical closure of a ventricular septal defect several years earlier. They both had developed pulmonary arterial hypertension preoperatively but had an uneventful recovery and were clinically asymptomatic before pregnancy.