4.5 years after Mitral valve replacement, 34 age

[Shiv]

Hi All,
I wanted to post about my wife. She has on-x mitral valve replacement in May 2019. Currently on anticoagulants. She is doing good , only few episodes of stool blood or heavy periods recently. Nothing serious. Hope the good time continues. What extra precautions we can take proactively to reduce future risks. Apart from PT/INR any other test to be done periodically or any inputs. Thanks all.

 

[Shiv]

Hi All,
I wanted to post about my wife. She has on-x mitral valve replacement in May 2019. Currently on anticoagulants. She is doing good , only few episodes of stool blood or heavy periods recently. Nothing serious. Hope the good time continues. What extra precautions we can take proactively to reduce future risks. Apart from PT/INR any other test to be done periodically or any inputs. Thanks all.

Also to add ,she also had a baby in Jan 2021 who is now 3 years old, almost.

 

[dick0236]

What extra precautions we can take proactively to reduce future risks. Apart from PT/INR any other test to be done periodically or any inputs. Thanks all.

Making sure I take the anti-coagulant as prescribed and testing INR every two weeks is the only "must-do" I follow.

 

[Shiv]

Making sure I take the anti-coagulant as prescribed and testing INR every two weeks is the only "must-do" I follow.

Do you use coagucheck?

 

[dick0236]

Do you use coagucheck?

I use my PCP's lab, and they use coagucheck.

 

[dornole]

I am glad your wife is doing well! That is great she was able to have a baby. People sometimes post on here looking for advice on what valve to choose, can they manage a pregnancy with a mechanical valve, so I am sure that will be encouraging for others to hear.

 

[Timmay]

My only recommendation would be to self-test once a week with your own CoaguChek. The literature supports better outcomes for patients that actively manage their INR weekly.

 

[tom in MO]

Tell her to enjoy life, she's doing all that she needs to do.

 

[Chuck C]

I'm very glad to hear that your wife is going good.

Per your question, I would agree with the weekly testing with a Coaguchek, as suggested by Timmay. Testing every two weeks is ok, but weekly is better. Studies have shown that those who self test have about 50% as many anticoagulant related events, which puts us pretty close to the general population with respect to events.