Optimal Anticoagulation for Pregnant Women with Mechanical Heart Valves

The prothrombotic state of pregnancy increases the risk of thromboembolic complications and death in women with mechanical heart valves (MHVs). Although it is accepted that these women must be on therapeutic anticoagulation throughout pregnancy, competing maternal and fetal risks, as well as the lack of high-quality data from prospective studies, make the choice of the optimal method of anticoagulation challenging. Vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) …