Prosthetic heart valve thrombosis, anticoagulation and pregnancy: a case report and review of literature

In pregnant patients with a prosthetic heart valve (PHV), anticoagulation with warfarin is associated with embryopathy, foetal loss early in pregnancy and maternal bleeding complications in the delivery period. The optimal anticoagulation strategy in the pre-pregnancy period and during pregnancy itself is controversial and a matter of debate. We describe a patient with PHV in the pre-pregnancy period and in a subsequent pregnancy. The optimal anticoagulation treatment strategy in women in their reproductive years with mechanical valve thrombosis is discussed. (Neth Heart J 2007;15: 306-9).