Mechanical Valves and Coumadin

I am asking a question on behalf of my father.  He has  a congenital heart problem and has a mechanical mitral valve replacement.   He has had a pig valve option put it in his forties and it lasted a lot longer than the doctors thought ( 30 years) until 2000.
Since then,He has been on 2 mg of coumadin since 2000 ( 9 years) and has regular blood test every month.  In 2008, he fell and hit his head, and had slow internal bleeding in his skull called sub dermal hematoma .

This is one of the side effects of Coumadin, is that you are suseptible to internal bleeding, especially for seniors who accidently fall. He went to the hospital, first time he was misdiagnosed and sent home, causing him to fall harder before being sent to hospital.  The internal bleeding has affected his eyesight somewhat, but the doctors say that it may heal.  His quality of life has been compromised greatly, but he is still independant.

My father mentioned there is a new Coumadin drug that has not been released that has less side effects,  but it is not available for sale yet.

Question:
Is there a way my father can get the new Coumadin,  to be a volunteer on a trial study?  Or is this new coumadin available in other parts of the country??  And is there a fact sheet to find out more about it??



This discussion is related to Re: Valve replacement options.