Around 1 million cases of medical termination of pregnancy (MTP) take place yearly in the United States of America with around 2 percent of this population developing complications. The cardiovascular (CVD) complications occurring post MTP or after stillbirth is not very well described.

To help the reader better understand, prepare, and manage these complications by reviewing various cardiac comorbidities seen after MTP.

We performed a literature search in PubMed, Medline, RCA, and google scholar, using the search terms "abortions" or "medical/legal termination of pregnancy" and "cardiac complications" or "cardiovascular complications".

The most common complications described in the literature following MTP were infective endocarditis (IE) (n = 16), takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC) (n = 7), arrhythmias (n = 5), and sudden coronary artery dissection (SCAD) (n = 4). The most common valve involved in IE was the tricuspid valve in 69% (n = 10). The most observed causative organism was group B Streptococcus in 81% (n = 12). The most common type of TTC was apical type in 57% (n = 4). Out of five patients developing arrhythmia, bradycardia was the most common and was seen in 60% (3/5) of the patients. All four cases of SCAD-P type presented as acute coronary syndrome 10-14 d post termination of pregnancy with predominant involvement of the right coronary artery. Mortality was only reported following IE in 6.25%. Clinical recovery was reported consistently after optimal medical management following all these complications.

In conclusion, the occurrence of CVD complications following pregnancy termination is infrequently documented in the existing literature. In this review, the most common CVD complication following MTP was noted to be IE and TTC.

Tricuspid valve endocarditis caused by Group B streptococcus is a rare clinical entity with poor prognosis and has been previously reported following gynecologic procedures.

We report a case of an 18-year-old female diagnosed with Group B streptococcus tricuspid valve endocarditis with septic emboli following an elective therapeutic abortion. After six weeks of treatment with ceftriaxone, she returned with recurrent symptoms and was found to have embolized a sizable vegetation to the pulmonary artery with probable lung infarction. She underwent surgical embolectomy and was treated with antibiotics and anticoagulation and was subsequently discharged in stable condition.

Group B streptococcus endocarditis is a serious complication of gynecologic procedures. The role of preoperative antibiotics, postoperative clinical suspicion of endocarditis based on respiratory symptoms and a multidisciplinary approach may lead to enhanced patient outcomes.

Virus infections are involved in chronic inflammation and, in some cases, cancer development. Although a viral infection activates the immune system's response that eradicates the pathogen mainly through inflammatory mechanisms, it is now recognized that this inflammatory condition is also favorable to the development of tumors. Indeed, it is well described that viruses, such as hepatitis C virus (HCV), Epstein Barr virus (EBV), human papillomavirus (HPV) or human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1), are important risk factors for tumor malignancies. The inflammatory response is a fundamental immune mechanism which involves several molecular and cellular components consisting of cytokines and chemokines that are released by various proinflammatory cells. In parallel to this process, some endogenous recruited components release anti-inflammatory mediators to restore homeostasis. The development of tools and strategies using viruses to hijack the immune response is mostly linked to the presence of regulatory T-cells (Treg) that can inhibit inflammation and antiviral responses of other effector cells. In this review, we will focus on current understanding of the role of natural and induced Treg in the control and the resolution of inflammatory response in HCV-, HTLV-1-, and EBV-associated cancers.

The objective of this review was to describe the clinical characteristics, risk factors, and outcomes of infective endocarditis (IE) in pregnancy and the postpartum period. We conducted a systematic review of Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus from January 1, 1988, through October 31, 2012. Included studies reported on women who met the modified Duke criteria for the diagnosis of IE and were pregnant or postpartum. We included 72 studies that described 90 cases of peripartum IE, mostly affecting native valves (92%). Risk factors associated with IE included intravenous drug use (14%), congenital heart disease (12%), and rheumatic heart disease (12%). The most common pathogens were streptococcal (43%) and staphylococcal (26%) species. Septic pulmonary, central, and other systemic emboli were common complications. Of the 51 pregnancies, there were 41 (80%) deliveries with survival to discharge, 7 (14%) fetal deaths, 1 (2%) medical termination of pregnancy, and 2 (4%) with unknown status. Maternal mortality was 11%. Infective endocarditis is a rare, life-threatening infection in pregnancy. Risk factors are changing with a marked decrease in rheumatic heart disease and an increase in intravenous drug use. The cases reported in the literature were commonly due to streptococcal organisms, involved the right-sided valves, and were associated with intravenous drug use.