Domas Grigoravičius¹

¹ Vilnius University, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania

Abstract

Introduction: anemia caused by heart valve prostheses is not a common but significant type of hemolytic anemia, despite the lack of information on this complication in the literature. There is no clear pathogenesis of the etiology of this condition. The primary mechanism of hemolytic anemia after valve replacement surgery is regurgitation due to valve leakage. Aim: this work aims to review the literature on the etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of valve-induced hemolytic anemia. Literature search strategy: the literature search was conducted using the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. The following keywords and their combinations were used: “hemolysis,” “valve replacement,” “treatment,” “diagnosis,” “surgery”. Conclusions: the diagnosis of hemolytic anemia caused by valve prostheses is problematic because it can be an early and late postoperative complication, and the condition must be differentiated from other possible causes of hemolysis even after the detection of hemolytic markers. Medication is sufficient to treat mild hemolytic anemia caused by valve prostheses, but surgical treatment and replacement of a defective valve are the most common.

Keywords: valve replacement; hemolytic anemia; postoperative complication.