[Heart valve prosthesis, pregnancy and anticoagulant therapy].

The reproductive possibilities of cardiopathic patients with cardiac valvular prostheses have greatly improved in the past forty years. The correct management of this risk pregnancies remains a problem, however, especially as regards the chronic anticoagulant treatment to which these patients are subjected. The thirty years experience of a heart surgery-obstetric team is reported here. This included 14 pregnancies in women with aortic or mitral valvular prostheses. The problems relating to anticoagulant treatment in pregnancy and during labour are discussed.