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3708780 tn?1347928212

Congenital Heart Disease and Tattoos?

I am a Congenital Heart Disease patient diagnosed with Shone's Syndrome, 2 heart srugeries; 1st one a coarctation of the aorta at age 2, 2nd a mitral and aortic valve replacement with mechanical valves and a sinus of valsalva aneurysm repair at 37. Current meds include baby aspirin, coumadin and metropolol and occassionally xanax for anxiety. I'm interested in gettting a tattoo, a small one. Any risk? What is your opinion on this? I have already discussed this with my cardiologist,I am just looking for other opinions.
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Avatar universal
I'm betting my last $100 that your cardiologist told you not to do it, probably because of the risk of risk of infection and possible endocarditis.  Aside from that, however, the tattoo will tend to be blurry if you get one while on coumadin.  The needle punctures will seep more blood than normal, and that will make the ink run.  So it's not really worth it, even from an aesthetic standpoint.  I'm on coumadin myself, so I looked into it.  I don't know if aspirin alone would have same effect, but I have read that coumadin does, and I know from my experience on coumadin that any little wounds I get tend to seep more than they did before I got my mech valve and went on anticoagulation therapy.  And just in case you might be thinking about going off your coumadin and aspirin to do the tattoo, don't even go there.  No tattoo is not worth risking a stroke, a myocardial infaction, or a pulmonary embolism over.  Sorry, tevety.
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Avatar universal
It could easily be true that your cardiologist is prudish and not a fan of tattoos, but the medical opinion that he gave you is standard advice.  For myself as a person on coumadin, I feel that the possibility of a tattoo has been taken off the table.
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3708780 tn?1347928212
My cardiologist said no based on the endocarditis. He said it's the same risk as a dental appt but dental work is essential, while a tattoo isn't. I never got far enough in my research to find out what a tattoo artist would say about tattooing someone on coumadin. Also, I was wondering if my cardiologist may have been exaggerating the risk as he seems a bit prudish and not a fan of tattoos.
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Avatar universal
I have read that a responsible tattoo artist will not work on someone who is on coumadin.
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976897 tn?1379167602
This is a tricky one. It's not a case of bleeding to death, it's more down to finding a tattooist willing to work on you with your blood so thin. One problem is that if you do bleed too much, then the ink may not stay put.
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