ASK THE DOCTOR: Will there ever be an aspirin-only option for people with mechanical heart valves?
ASK THE DOCTOR
Will there ever be an aspirin-only option for people with mechanical heart valves?
Q. Sometime soon I will need to have my aortic valve replaced. I like the fact that mechanical valves last longer than biological valves, but I don’t like the fact that they require you to take the blood thinner Coumadin to prevent blood clots. I have heard that one of the new mechanical valves won’t require Coumadin, just aspirin. Is that so?
A. An artificial aortic valve that combines the durability of a mechanical valve with the anti-clotting surface of a bioprosthetic valve would be an important advance. The chance of it happening in the near future is slim.
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