Antithrombotic Medication and Major Complications After Mechanical Aortic Valve Replacement

Patients with mechanical aortic valve replacement (AVR) require lifelong vitamin K antagonist (VKA) therapy for stroke and systemic embolism prevention. However, VKA treatment predisposes patients to various types of bleeding. In the present study, we sought to assess the success of antithrombotic therapy and the occurrence and timing of strokes and bleeding events after mechanical AVR. A total of 308 patients who underwent isolated mechanical AVR were included in the study, and follow-up data were completed for 306 patients (99.4%).

Source: The American Journal of Cardiology - August 5, 2023 Category: Cardiology Authors: Rikhard Bj örn, Joonas Lehto, Markus Malmberg, Vesa Anttila, K.E. Juhani Airaksinen, Jarmo Gunn, Tuomas Kiviniemi Source Type: research