Summary We report the case of a 60-year-old woman who presented with weakness and hypokalaemia due to excessive use of laxatives. When the laxatives were withdrawn, she developed severe congestive cardiac failure requiring treatment with a diuretic and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. There was no underlying cardiac abnormality, and these drugs were eventually stopped with no recurrence of the cardiac failure. The possible mechanisms of heart failure following laxative withdrawal is discussed.

Purpose Associations between rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in pregnancy and fetal outcomes are relatively unknown. This study aimed to review rates and predictors of major adverse fetal outcomes of RHD in pregnancy. Methods Medline (Ovid), Pubmed, EMcare, Scopus, CINAHL, Informit, and WHOICTRP databases were searched for studies that reported rates of adverse perinatal events in women with RHD during pregnancy. Outcomes included preterm birth, intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR), low-birth weight (LBW), perinatal death and percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty intervention. Meta-analysis of fetal events by the New-York Heart Association (NYHA) heart failure classification, and the Mitral-valve Area (MVA) severity score was performed with unadjusted random effects models and heterogeneity of risk ratios (RR) was assessed with the I2 statistic. Quality of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE approach. The study was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42020161529). Findings The search identified 5949 non-duplicate records of which 136 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 22 studies included, 11 studies were eligible for meta-analyses. In 3928 pregnancies, high rates of preterm birth (9.35%-42.97%), LBW (12.98%-39.70%), IUGR (6.76%-22.40%) and perinatal death (0.00%-9.41%) were reported. NYHA III/IV pre-pregnancy was associated with higher rates of preterm birth (5 studies, RR 2.86, 95%CI 1.54–5.33), and perinatal death (6 studies, RR 3.23, 1.92–5.44). Moderate /severe mitral stenosis (MS) was associated with higher rates of preterm birth (3 studies, RR 2.05, 95%CI 1.02–4.11) and IUGR (3 studies, RR 2.46, 95%CI 1.02–5.95). Interpretation RHD during pregnancy is associated with adverse fetal outcomes. Maternal NYHA III/IV and moderate/severe MS in particular may predict poor prognosis.