Dabigatran versus Warfarin in Patients with Mechanical Heart Valves

• 

Details

The use of dabigatran in patients with mechanical heart valves was associated with increased rates of thromboembolic and bleeding complications, as compared with warfarin, thus showing no benefit and an excess risk.

This was the outcome of  phase 2 study indicate that at the doses tested, dabigatran was not as effective as warfarin for the prevention of thromboembolic complications in patients with mechanical heart valves and was associated with an increased risk of bleeding. These results might be explained by the relative inability of dabigatran to suppress activation of coagulation that occurs when blood is exposed to the artificial surfaces of the valve prosthesis. The use of dabigatran has no positive value and was associated with excess risk in patients with mechanical heart valves.