Why the study?
Is pregnancy safe and successful in women with Starr-Edwards prosthetic heart valves maintained on anticoagulation?
Is pregnancy safe and successful in women with Starr-Edwards prosthetic heart valves maintained on anticoagulation?
Pregnancy is not contraindicated in women with Starr-Edwards prosthetic heart valves provided that anticoagulation is carefully maintained and monitored until term.
Supports individualized anticoagulation management in prosthetic valve pregnancies; extends sparse case evidence but leaves definitive safety open.
Three cases of successful pregnancies in women with Starr-Edwards prosthetic heart valves are described and 10 cases from the literature are reviewed. Prosthetic heart valves do not contraindicate pregnancy. Anticoagu-lation should be continued until term with the treatment carefully controlled and the prothrombin values within therapeutic range at all times. The use of oral contraceptives in these patients is not advised until further experiences are obtained.
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Hedstrand et al. (1968) studied this question.
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