Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy of Combined Low Dose Aspirin and Warfarin Following Mechanical Heart Valve Replacement for Mitral Valve Disease

Authors

  • Md Sorower Hossain Assistant Registrar, Department of Cardiac Surgery, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Istiaq Ahmed Associate Professor, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Sanjay Kumar Raha Associate Professor, Department of Cardiac Surgery, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Smriti Kana Biswas Assistant Registrar, Surgery Outpatient Department, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • Md Kamrul Hasan Professor, Department of Cardiac Surgery, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Dhaka, Bangladesh

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3329/bhj.v36i1.55514

Keywords:

Warfarin, Aspirin, Mitral valve replacement, Thromboembolism, Anticoagulation related haemorrhage.

Abstract

Introduction: Warfarin is recommended following mechanical valve replacement to prevent thromboembolic complications. A combination of warfarin and aspirin may further reduce thromboembolic events in these patients. This study was designed to evaluate safety and efficacy of combined low dose aspirin and warfarin therapy following mechanical mitral valve replacement.

Materials and Methods: Purposively selected 99 patients who underwent mechanical mitral valve replacement were divided into two groups. Patients of Group A (n=50) received combined low dose aspirin (75mg) and warfarin. Patients of Group B (n=49) received conventional dose of warfarin alone. International normalized ratio (INR) was targeted 1.8-2.4 for group A Patients and 2.5-3.5 for group B Patients. Post-operatively INR, thromboembolic events, anti-coagulation related haemorrhage and other morbidity and mortality were registered in both groups.

Result: Patients were followed up postoperatively for 9 months. The mean dose of warfarin in group A and group B was 4.36 ± 0.31 mg and 5.57±0.52 mg respectively (p<0.001). The overall mean INR of two groups of patients were statistically different (P<0.001) with low INR in group A (2.19±0.13) patients compared to group B (3.03±0.31). The thromboembolic events in group A (0.02/patient year) were lower than those in group B (0.08/Patient year). There was no statistically significant (p=0.362) difference in bleeding episodes between two groups but data indicate proportion of minor bleeding manifestations were higher in patients treated with warfarin plus aspirin group.

Conclusion: Following mechanical mitral valve replacement, a combination of aspirin (75mg) and low dose warfarin with an aim to maintain INR between 1.8 and 2.4 (lower than recommended 2.5-3.5) may provide satisfactory outcomes in term of thrombosis, embolism and bleeding without increase in mortality.

Bangladesh Heart Journal 2021; 36(1): 24-31

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Published

2021-09-20

How to Cite

Hossain, M. S. ., Ahmed, I. ., Raha, S. K., Biswas, S. K., & Hasan, M. K. . (2021). Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy of Combined Low Dose Aspirin and Warfarin Following Mechanical Heart Valve Replacement for Mitral Valve Disease. Bangladesh Heart Journal, 36(1), 24–31. https://doi.org/10.3329/bhj.v36i1.55514

Issue

Vol. 36 No. 1 (2021)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Bangladesh Cardiac Society

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Articles in the Bangladesh Heart Journal are Open Access articles published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC).  This license permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.