Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann 2005;13:341-344
© 2005 Asia Publishing EXchange Ltd
Low-Dose Anticoagulation in Chinese Patients with Mechanical Heart Valves
Xin-Min Zhou, MD,
Wei Zhuang, MD,
Jian-Guo Hu, MD,
Jian-Min Li, MD,
Jie-Feng Yu, BA,
Ling Jiang, BA
Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, The Second Xiang-Ya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
For reprint information contact: Xin-Min Zhou, MD Tel: 86 731 222 8128 Fax: 86 731 553 3525 Email: Mark037100{at}163.com, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Second Xiang-Ya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China.
The aim of this study was to provide guidelines for optimal anticoagulation in Chinese patients after mechanical heart valve replacement. A Carbomedics valve was implanted in 178 patients between July 2000 and July 2003. During follow-up, 22 bleeding events and 1 thromboembolic complication occurred. The linearized rates of bleeding and thromboembolism were 5.83% and 0.26% per patient-year, respectively. The linearized mortality rate was 0.79% per patient-year. The final mean international normalized ratio (INR) was 1.68 ± 0.38, however there was a significant variation between the early and late periods of follow-up. For Chinese patients with mechanical heart valves, bleeding was the major complication rather than thromboembolism. Low-dose anticoagulation (international normalized ratio 1.4–2.0) could markedly decrease bleeding and effectively prevent thromboembolism. As the INR was most unstable in the first postoperative month, re-examination of patients in this period is critical.
Copyright © 2005 by the Asia Publishing EXchange Ltd.
