A case of postpartum cerebral angiopathy with intracranial hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage immediately after delivery]

A 32-year-old woman, gravida 0, para 0, was admitted for delivery at 40 weeks of gestation. She had no history of headache, hypertension, and toxemia. She was delivered of a healthy boy. Although she was given no medication during normal delivery, she suddenly became drowsy and developed left hemiparesis immediately after delivery. Computed tomographic (CT) scan of the brain performed on the admission day revealed a subarachnoid hemorrhage and right putaminal hemorrhage. A 4-vessel cerebral angiogram demonstrated multiple irregular narrowing of the anterior cerebral arteries, middle cerebral arteries, and posterior cerebral arteries. Her conditions seemed to improve without any medication, and the multiple stenoses were no longer observed by angiography in a follow-up examination. On the basis of these observations, she was diagnosed as having postpartum cerebral angiopathy (PCA). Pathogenesis of PCA still remaing unclear to date an ergot alkaloid derivate (ergonovine) and the hydrogenated form of the powerful vasoconstrictor ergot (bromocriptine) have been reported as cause of PCA. We will classify PCA into 3 categories: eclampsia, secondary PCA, and primary PCA. "Primary PCA" is of unknown etiology, "secondary PCA" results from a known etiology such as drugs, and "eclampsia" is a PCA with toxemia of pregnancy. We report here, that PCA may occur even in a normal pregnant woman who was given no medication, and should be considered in the diagnosis of postpartum cerebral vascular diseases in women.