Volume 15, Number 3, May-June 2008

The management of patients with mechanical heart valves and intracerebral haemorrhage
Daniel B McKenzie, Kelvin Wong, Timothy Edwards

Patients with mechanical prosthetic heart valves require oral anticoagulation to reduce the risk of thromboembolic events, but this can be complicated by anticoagulantassociated intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH). In order to make appropriate decisions about the resumption of anticoagulation in patients with mechanical heart valves and ICH, the risks of further bleeding must be weighed against those of thromboembolic events. There is limited evidence available to guide clinical decision-making in this situation and each case must be assessed individually, ideally with a multi-disciplinary team approach.

Br J Cardiol 2008;15:145–8.

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