Item Brochure

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Heart valve replacement
A common treatment for heart valve disease
What is heart valve disease and how can it be treated?
· Heart valves ensure that blood flows in only one direction through your heart
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· However, some people are born with faulty heart valves or have damaged valves
as a result of disease or ageing
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· If heart valve disease cannot be treated by medication or surgical repair, then
the only option is to replace it with an artificial (mechanical) or a tissue valve
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Heart valve replacement is a common treatment, but it can cause
clot formation
· More than a million mechanical heart valves have been implanted in the past
50 years
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· However, they can trigger blood clot formation, potentially causing a heart attack
or stroke
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· If you have a mechanical heart valve then you will need to take anticoagulants
for the rest of your life
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· Warfarin is currently the anticoagulant of choice for patients with mehanical
heart valves
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Who is at risk of venous thromboembolism?
· If you have just had major surgery or a total hip or knee replacement, your
doctor has probably prescribed you anticoagulants to prevent the formation of
harmful blood clots
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· Other risk factors for venous thromboembolism include pregnancy, obesity,
older age, a sedentary lifestyle and inherited conditions which make blood
more likely to clot
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What is a venous thromboembolism?
· The medical term venous thromboembolism includes the conditions deep vein
thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
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· A deep vein thrombosis is a blood clot which forms in a deep vein, often in the
legs
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· Pulmonary embolism is a complication of deep vein thrombosis which arises
when a blood clot breaks away and travels to the lungs
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What are the consequences of a pulmonary embolism?
· In mild cases, it causes chest pain and breathlessness
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, in severe cases how-
ever, it can cause sudden death
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· Without treatment, 5-15% of deep vein thrombosis sufferers may die from a
pulmonary embolism
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The main treatment for venous thromboembolism is anticoagulant therapy
· Usually an oral anticoagulant such as warfarin is given for at least 3 months
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· If you are affected by recurrent deep vein thrombosis, an oral anticoagulant
may be given for longer, sometimes for life
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Venous thromboembolism
Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism
Fig 4: A venous thrombosis
forms within a vein
Embolus
Thrombus
Migration
Pulmonary
semilunar valve
Bicus valve
(mitral)
Triscupid valve
Aortic
semilunar valve
Fig 3: Cardiac chambers
and heart valves