title: Successful thrombolysis of st. Jude medical aortic prosthesis with tissue-type plasminogen activator in a pregnant woman: a case report.
abstract: Mechanical valve thrombosis is a life-threatening event. Pregnancy is associated with a hypercoagulable state that further emphasizes the importance of adequate anticoagulation. This is associated with a therapeutic dilemma. Continued anticoagulation with warfarin throughout the first trimester can result in fetopathic effects, while replacement of warfarin by heparin between 6 and 12 weeks of gestation does not completely prevent the risk of valve thrombosis. There are a small number of reported cases of pregnant women with prosthetic heart valve thrombosis under low molecular weight heparin and consecutive lytic therapy. The authors report a 33-year-old pregnant woman with a St. Jude Medical aortic prosthesis, anticoagulated with a therapeutic dosage of low molecular weight heparin from 6 weeks of gestation, who developed prosthetic heart valve thrombosis at 17 weeks of gestation. A thrombolysis with recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (50 mg for 2 hours) was performed. Under thrombolysis, ST-segment elevation in leads II, III, aVF, V5, and V6 developed electrocardiographically with a maximal creatine kinase (CK) of 349 U/L (CK-MB isoenzyme of 48 U/L). Echocardiography revealed normal function of the St. Jude Medical aortic prosthesis 2 hours after thrombolysis and normal wall motions. Short-course thrombolytic therapy appears to be an effective alternative to surgical intervention for the treatment of thrombotic dysfunction of valve prostheses in pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Angiology, and Pneumology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Germany. behrendt.patrik@web.de
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Behrendt
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schwartzkopff
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perings
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gerhardt
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Zotz
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Strauer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000628:therapy; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000188:drug therapy; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D010959:Tissue Plasminogen Activator