Self-care training and informational support of patients with a mechanical heart valve on the international normalized ratio and bleeding complications

Introduction
The aim of the study was to determine the effect of self-care training and informational support of patients with a mechanical heart valve on the international normalized ratio (INR) and bleeding complications.

Material and methods
Design: A quasi-experimental study. Participants were recruited via convenience sampling and were randomly divided into two groups: control (n = 80) and intervention (n = 80). Participants in the control group received only routine training; in addition, the intervention group received 6 sessions of self-care training and 6 months of informational support. Monthly the level of INR and incidence of bleeding were determined. Data were analyzed using the independent t-test and c2 in SPSS16 software at a significance level of 0.05.

Results
During 6 months of follow-up, except for the third month, the frequency of INR levels in the therapeutic target range (2.5–3.5) in the intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group (p < 0.05). Also in the intervention group, the incidence of bleeding complications was lower than that in the control group, but this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05).

Conclusions
Proper self-care training and informational support in patients with mechanical heart valve replacement have positive results. By maintaining self-care, the level of a therapeutic target range of INR can be maintained and the incidence of bleeding complications can be reduced.