A Review of the Use of Direct Oral Anticoagulant Use in Orthotopic Heart Transplantation Recipients

Over 60 years ago, the vitamin K antagonist (VKA) warfarin was approved and remained the only oral anticoagulation agent until recently [1]. Currently, within North America and Europe there are four DOACs available. Dabigatran, first approved in Europe and Canada in 2008, then in the United States of America in 2010, followed by rivaroxaban, apixaban, and most recently edoxaban. The introduction of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) has been a major advancement and these agents are the preferred to VKAs for many indications [2 –5], including stroke prevention in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF), acute treatment and prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) , and VTE prophylaxis post elective hip and knee arthroplasty [6–9].
Source: Transplantation Reviews - Category: Transplant Surgery Authors: Tags: Review article Source Type: research