Low socioeconomic status increases the risk of bleeding after mechanical aortic valve replacement

Patients with low socioeconomic status who have undergone mechanical aortic valve replacement, AVR, have a higher risk of bleeding complications, such as fatal intracranial hemorrhage, shows a study done by researchers at Karolinska Institutet. The study is now published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, JACC.

"The higher risk of bleeding complications is probably due to poorer controlled anticoagulation treatment in these patients, compared to patients with high socioeconomic status," says Magnus Dalén, associate professor of heart surgery at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery.

More than 5,900 patients included in the study

In a nationwide population-based cohort study the researchers investigated all adult patients who underwent mechanical AVR in Sweden during 1997 to 2018.

"Among 5,974 patients, we observed a strong association between low socioeconomic status and risk of bleeding among patients who underwent mechanical AVR. These findings suggest suboptimal anticoagulation treatment in patients with lower socioeconomic status and the need for strategies to optimize anticoagulation treatment in patients with a mechanical heart valve," says Magnus Dalén.