title: Patient Management with Metallic Valve Prosthesis during Pregnancy and Postpartum Period.
abstract: Prosthetic thrombosis is a rare complication, but it has high mortality and morbidity. Young women of childbearing age that have prosthetic heart valves are at increased risk of thrombosis during pregnancy due to changes in coagulation factors. Anticoagulation with adequate control and frequent follow-up if pregnancy occurs must be performed in order to prevent complications related to anticoagulant use. Surgery remains the treatment of choice for prosthetic heart valve thrombosis in most clinical conditions. Patients with metallic prosthetic valves have an estimated 5% risk of thrombosis during pregnancy and maternal mortality of 1.5% related to the event. Anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists during pregnancy is related to varying degrees of complications at each stage of the pregnancy and postpartum periods. Warfarin sodium crosses the placental barrier and when used in the first trimester of pregnancy is a teratogenic agent, causing 1-3% of malformations characterized by fetal warfarin syndrome and also constitutes a major cause of miscarriage in 10-30% of cases. In the third trimester and at delivery, the use of warfarin is associated with maternal and neonatal bleeding in approximately 5 to 15% of cases, respectively. On the other hand, inadequate anticoagulation, including the suspension of the oral anticoagulants aiming at fetal protection, carries a maternal risk of about 25% of metallic prosthesis thrombosis, particularly in the mitral valve. This fact is also due to the state of maternal hypercoagulability with activation of coagulation factors V, VI, VII, IX, X, platelet activity and fibrinogen synthesis, and decrease in protein S levels. The Registry of Pregnancy and Cardiac Disease (ROPAC), assessing 212 pregnant women with metal prosthesis, showed that prosthesis thrombosis occurred in 10 (4.7%) patients and maternal hemorrhage in 23.1%, concluding that only 58% of patients with metallic prosthesis had a complication-free pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliane Dantas Seabra
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Garcez
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Vitor Emer Egypto
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Antonio Sergio de Santis Andrade
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tarso Augusto Duenhas
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Accorsi
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Ricardo Cordeiro
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pablo Maria
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Pomerantzeff
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Walkiria Samuel
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Avila
authors.affiliation: Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flavio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tarasoutchi
mesh_terms: D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001779:Blood Coagulation Factors / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006493:Heparin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008670:Metals; D049590:Postpartum Period / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014859:Warfarin / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants; D001779:Blood Coagulation Factors; D008670:Metals; D014859:Warfarin; D006493:Heparin