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Abstract

Postpartum emergencies often present in the emergency department (ED) and include headache, eclampsia, infection, heart failure, and hypertension. The incidence of these conditions, and of late postpartum eclampsia (LPPE) in particular, appears to be increasing.¹ Although the reasons for this are unknown, they may be related to earlier discharge from the hospital after delivery and increased reliance on the ED for after-hours care. Failure to recognize and treat these conditions can lead to disastrous consequences for the patient, including stroke, permanent brain damage, or death. Eclampsia is a leading cause of pregnancyrelated mortality in the postpartum patient, and postpartum headache presents a major diagnostic challenge. This issue of Emergency Medicine Practicefocuses on the most commonly encountered postpartum emergencies: headache, LPPE, hypertension, and cardiomyopathy.

Keywords:
cardiomyopathy, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, eclampsia, headache, HELLP syndrome, hypertension, postpartum, PRES syndrome

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