Anticoagulant Therapy for Mechanical Heart Valves - Unmet Need Persists

Direct oral anticoagulants such as apixaban or dabigatran have revolutionized anticoagulant treatment. These drugs, which specifically inhibit either factor Xa or thrombin, respectively, are at least as effective as vitamin K antagonists (e.g., warfarin) in patients with atrial fibrillation or venous thromboembolism and have important safety advantages that include reduced risks of intracranial hemorrhage, fatal bleeding, and all-cause mortality.^1-3 They are also much easier to use because they are given in a fixed dose without routine laboratory monitoring of the anticoagulant effect and dose adjustment in the individual patient.