Mechanical Heart Valves and Anticoagulants 1
Mechanical Heart Valves with Anticoagulants
Patients With Mechanical Heart Valves Living With Anticoagulants For Life
Megan Beaty
Trident Tech Nursing
Mechanical Heart Valves and Anticoagulants 2
Patients With Mechanic Heart Valves Living With Anticoagulants For Life
For the paper, I describe a situation I experienced with a patient at clinical. This patient has
a mechanical heart valve and was prescribed anticoagulants for the rest of his life. I gained
knowledge from having this patient that I can now apply to better my future nursing practice.
During one of my clinical days, I cared for a male patient who was diagnosed with aortic
stenosis, and had undergone a mechanical heart valve replacement in 2005. The nurse I worked
with during that clinical day for this patient, informed me that since our patient had a mechanical
heart valve, that he would have to take anticoagulants for the rest of his life. I wasn’t aware that
patients with mechanical heart valves are required to take anticoagulants indefinitely.
Patients that are diagnosed with aortic stenosis are the ones who commonly receive
mechanical heart valves as a treatment for their condition (Oterhals, Nordrehaug, Haaverstad, &
Norekval, 2013). The reason that anticoagulants are indicated for mechanical heart valves I have
learned from research, is due to the fact that mechanical heart valves have been found to be a
high risk for causing thrombosis, as well as embolisms in patients (Oterhals, Nordrehaug,
Haaverstad, & Norekval, 2013). Patients are placed on anticoagulants to thin the blood out to
prevent the occurrence of thrombosis and embolisms in patients who have mechanical heart
valves (Oterhals, Nordrehaug, Haaverstad, & Norekval, 2013). Now I’m informed of why it’s
important to use anticoagulants in my nursing practice for patients who have mechanical valves.
For my future nursing practice, I now know that using anticoagulants and checking INR’s
in patients with mechanical heart valves prevent further complications, by thinning patients’
blood. This helps my future nursing practice, by preparing me to be able to teach my patients
with mechanical heart valves the importance of adhering to their prescribed anticoagulant drug
regimen so that they don’t experience any further complications in their health.
Mechanical Heart Valves and Anticoagulants 3
References
Oterhals, K., Fridlun, B., Nordrehaug, J.E., Haaverstad, R., Norekval T.M. (2013). Adapting to
living with a mechanical aortic heart valve: a phenomenographic study. Journal Of
Advanced Nursing, 69(9), 2099-2098. doi:10.1111/jan. 12076
