Role of ABO blood groups in prosthetic valve thrombosis

We read with great interest the article published in Anatolian Journal of Cardiology by Astarcıoğlu et al. (1) entitled “ABO blood types: impact on development of prosthetic mechanical valve thrombosis.” Several risk factors of prosthetic valve thrombosis (PVT) are well known. The search for new categories of risks should continue to refine even more the initial therapeutic decision in PVT. In this work, the authors evaluated the association between blood group status and PVT. They reported that patients with non-O blood groups have greater incidence of PVT compared with O blood groups. This result suggests that non-O group may be a risk factor that favors developing PVT. It is increasingly recognized that individuals with non-O blood groups may be at elevated risk of venous and arterial thromboembolic events compared with individuals with blood group O. This increased risk has been attributed to higher concentrations of factor VIII and von Willebrand factor (2). Anatol J Cardiol 2017; 17: 75-80 Letters to the Editor 77