Aspirin and Heparin Therapy

In This Article:
Aspirin and Fertility
Aspirin and Heparin Therapy
Aspirin and Fertility in the Long Term

It is not uncommon for some In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) patients to receive aspirin and heparin or immunoglobulin treatment in an effort to prevent spontaneous abortions, whether or not they have APA-related disorders. Studies out of the CER Medical Institute in Buenos Aires found that women undergoing IVF treatments who were administered aspirin became pregnant almost twice as often as women also undergoing IVF but who did not take aspirin. This was in part credited to the belief that aspirin contributed to an increase in egg production.

According to a study published in Fertility and Sterility (operated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine), “Low dose aspirin treatment significantly improves ovarian response, uterine and ovarian blood flow velocity, implantation rate and pregnancy rate in patients undergoing IVF. Aspirin seems to be a useful, effective and safe treatment in patients who undergo assisted reproductive technologies.”

Despite this, the FDA has not approved either aspirin nor heparin, whether alone or in combination, as anticoagulation therapies for IVF patients. Data concerning benefits and risks of such anticoagulation and immunoglobulin therapy in IVF patients remains scant, but these therapies are gaining some acceptance in the US medical community. Thus far, there has been one fatality associated with IVF and anticoagulation therapy, that of a 38-year-old woman who in 1996 was nine weeks pregnant with triplets when she died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

To that end, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) warns that there is a significant risk of bleeding associated with heparin and aspirin, meaning anticoagulation therapy for IVF patients must first be subject to vigorous scientific investigation and debate before it can become a routine and accepted practice. To that end, women seeking infertility treatments should discuss all potential therapies with their doctor or other certified health professionals.

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