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"The first day, I could barely walk five minutes on the treadmill," she said. "I was so weak that I had to lie down for an hour before I could pick my daughter up from the child care center."

Four years after her diagnosis, Dancer said she feels great most of the time. She tires occasionally, but can't pinpoint whether it's the effects of PPCM or her busy lifestyle. She will probably be on cardiac medications for the rest of her life, but she maintains an active lifestyle with her husband and daughter and exercises every day. She continues to work 20 hours a week as a cardiac rehab nurse at Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

She also is committed to educating her colleagues and expectant moms about the dangers of PPCM. She has conducted an in-service to labor and delivery nurses and is working with a local nursing school to schedule a workshop for nursing students this summer.

"While doctors are acutely on the lookout for signs of pre-eclampsia or pulmonary embolism, they don't usually look for signs of PPCM," Dancer said. "Although it is more rare than other pregnancy complications, I think it's imperative for caregivers to recognize the symptoms."

Dancer recommends that doctors listen to a patient's breathing during the last trimester of their pregnancy. She also thinks that labor and delivery nurses can play a critical role in early diagnosis of PPCM by performing a thorough pulmonary assessment just before a new mom is discharged.

"Nurses should teach every new mom to seek help immediately for shortness of breath, new onset of a cough and especially when they have shortness of breath when they lie down," she said. "In addition, doctors should be more thorough in their pulmonary assessments of new moms."

Dancer's ultimate goal is to have the symptoms of PPCM listed on discharge instructions at hospitals across the United States. She would like to specifically educate ob/gyn staff and nurses about the signs and symptoms of PPCM.

"All too often, PPCM patients are misdiagnosed with asthma, pneumonia or panic attacks," she said. "It's frightening how many PPCM patients are given anxiety meds or an inhaler and sent home."

Dancer has become an advocate for the many women who are diagnosed with PPCM each year. She maintains an "Ask the Nurse" column on a PPCM Web site (www.ppcmsupport.com), and frequently fields questions from expectant mothers and PPCM patients all over the world.

"I recently communicated via the Internet with a pregnant woman in Japan who had a persistent cough and was given inhalers when she visited the ER," Dancer said. "I encouraged the woman to go back to the hospital and demand an echocardiogram, chest X-rays, etc. She, in fact, had PPCM and while they were delivering her baby, she arrested in the OR and woke up on a ventilator three days later."

Despite the trauma that PPCM caused in her life, Dancer is thankful for her blessings.

"In hindsight, PPCM has made me a better mother and a better nurse," she said. "I have slowed down a lot and I appreciate the simple things in life. I don't take anything in life for granted, and I can empathize better with my heart failure patients because I know what an [ejection fraction] of 25 percent to 30 percent feels like."