The course of pregnancy in patients with artificial valves
Biale, Y.; Cantor, A.; Lewenthal, H.; Gueron, M.
Harefuah 102(6): 232-234
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0017-7768 PMID: 7160716 Document Number: 186164
Continuing improvement in cardiac surgery and a wider selection of young patients for prosthetic valve replacement means that an increasing number of women of child-bearing age will undergo such procedures and will subsequently become pregnant. At present, most patients with prosthetic heart valves are treated with anticoagulants for life. The main complication of anticoagulant therapy during pregnancy is fetal and maternal hemorrhage. The outcome of 13 pregnancies in 7 women with heart prostheses who were treated with dipyridamole and aspirin during their pregnancies. Five women had Starr-Edwards prostheses and 2 had bovine pericardium xenograft prostheses. Of the 9 successful pregnancies, 2 were terminated by cesarean section, 2 by forceps, 2 by vacuum extraction, 1 by breech delivery and in only 2 were there normal spontaneous deliveries. All infants were born with good Apgar scores, normal weights and with no congenital malformations. There were no postpartum maternal or fetal complications.