Objective.To analyze the clinical characteris tics of peripartum cardiomyopathy a nd to evaluate the different factors that influence the prognosis of the peripartum cardiomyopathy.Method.A retrospective review was undertak en on records of women who were diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy at Peking Union Medi cal College Hospital between Jan.1983and May 1999.Results.During the research period

only 16p regnant women were documented as peripartum cardiomyopa-thy.Some of the women undertook ultr asonic cardiographic（UCG）examination that showed decreased s ystolic function.Seven women were complica ted with pregnancy induced hyperten sion.Three died of disseminated intravascular coagulation

embolism and cardiogenic shock respectively.Conclusion.Early diagnosis of the peripartum ca rdiomyopathy is extremely important.The UCG can pro-vide helpful information on disease progression or regression.