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I appreciate the support of all who wrote about advice on surgery and how to
make sure ahead of time that all medications and food is gluten free. I
received 11 replies regarding blood thinners. Though no one had experience
with mechanical heart valves and their potential to generate clots without
blood thinners, there were several on blood thinners for other medical
reasons and they felt that it was safe for celiacs if monitored properly and
the diet is managed carefully.  The replies are summarized below as follows:
1. best wishes
2. inform doctor and anesthesiologist about GF, check diet tray and medications
3. gluten affects absorption of all medicines as well as vitamins, minerals
4. use a tissue valve since safer due to no requirement for blood thinners
and get a new valve each time it wears out.
5. be careful eating foods high in vitamin K
6. foods rich in vitamin K and other foods/drinks may impact blood thinning
more than an  accidental dose of gluten since it takes a long term exposure
to gluten to impact absorption.
7. though doesn't have a valve replacement he had no problem controlling
blood thinning both before and after exposure to gluten.
8. he stays gluten free and on coumadin, gets it checked every two weeks -
being celiac seems to change his absorption of nutrients at different times.
9. absorption of everything is affected when you ingest some gluten so get
checked often - perhaps weekly would be good enough.
10. best of luck in surgery
11. medications are absorbed better when taken separately from food.

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