Pregnant Woman Died After Experiencing A Rare, Symptomless Heart Condition: Doctors Say That His Little Boy Cannot Be Saved

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A 33-year-old doctor. who has recently moved to Houston from California with her family, was 38 weeks pregnant with a baby boy. Surprisingly, two weeks before her due, Marlene Dominguez-Hicks experienced a rare heart condition without feeling any symptoms. Sadly, her little one couldn't be saved.

Prior to giving birth, Marlene collapsed at her home and by the time she reached the hospital, she was pronounced dead to peripartum cardiomyopathy - an unusual type of heart condition that happens to some women during their last term of pregnancy. Marlene's baby boy was delivered via emergency C-section, but there was no brain stem activity because the baby did not have oxygen for a long time.

According to American Heart Association, peripartum cardiomyopathy or PPCM can happen for up to five months after pregnancy. This condition "weakens and enlarges the heart chambers until, in the most serious cases, the left ventricle can no longer pump enough blood to vital organs." Meanwhile, Daily Mail reported that it is relatively rare to happen. In the United States, there are only about 1,000 to 1,300 women who happen to experience this condition. The majority of the mothers who developed this heart failure fully recover, however, it kills about six to ten percent of women.

Until now, doctors are trying to find out what causes it as this condition is almost symptomless. 'It happens in women who are young and healthy during what is supposed to be a happy time in their lives.' Dr. Lili Ayala Barouch, a professor of medicine said, as per Houston Chronicle. Meanwhile, physicians shared some of the deceptively similar symptoms of PPCM and these are shortness of breath, fatigue, and swollen ankles. 

Marlene has never mentioned about experiencing any of the symptoms aside from having multiple pregnancies. She's even having a healthy lifestyle while making sure that she visits her prenatal appointments. Furthermore, she has no cardiac disorder history, so it's still a mystery how such thing can happen to her.