Recent clinical trials showed that dabigatran was superior to warfarin for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, however whether it is suitable for the lifelong anticoagulation in patients after heart valve replacement, remains controversial. Many animal experiments showed that dabigatran group was better than heparin and warfarin in the prevention of thrombosis and bleeding complications after valve replacement. Randomized, phaseⅡstudy to evaluate the safety and pharmacokinetics of oral dabigatran etexilate in patients after heart valve replacement (RE-ALIGN) clinical trial showed that dabigatran wasn't as effective as warfarin in preventing thrombosis, but increases the risk of bleeding. And there are some case reports about thrombosis and bleeding complications after taking dabigatran. At present, the efficacy and safety of dabigatran applying in patients after heart valve replacement still needs further study.
ObjectiveTo summarize surgical treatment experience on unruptured aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva (SVA). MethodsClinical data of 33 patients with unruptured SVA underwent surgical repair at Fu wai Hospital between February 2007 and January 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 27 males and 6 females with their mean age of 28.5±13.5 years (ranged from 4.5 to 58.0 years). The unruptured SVA originated in the right coronary sinus in 29 cases (87.8%), in non-coronary in 2 cases (6.1%) and in left coronary sinus in 2 cases (6.1%). There were 29 cases with ventricular septal defect and 20 cases with aortic valve insufficiency (AI). ResultsOnly 52.8% of unruptured SVA were correctly diagnosed by echocardiography preoperatively. All unruptured SVA received active surgical management, with no early death after operation. Thirty patients (90.9%) were followed up for 22 to 81 months (mean 42.9±18.8 months) and in NYHA classⅠorⅡ. None SVA recurrence occurred. Postoperative AI could be improved better by using the repair route only through the chamber of right ventricle for patients with unruptured SVA originated in right coronary sinus. ConclusionFor unruptured SVA patients who associated with other kinds of cardiovascular lesions, active surgical repair for unruptured SVA can achieve satisfactory results.