The heart valves play a vital role in ensuring blood flows correctly through the heart and the rest of the body. If they do not function correctly, a person may require surgery to replace the damaged ...

In general, mechanical valves tend to last longer than tissue valves, but patients who receive them have an increased risk of blood clots and must take anticoagulants. "After valve replacement surgery ...

Dr. Siddharth, usually referred to as Dr. Sidd, decided to repair and not replace Baer’s valve. He used an innovative technique called PVL closure to place a catheter in a small vein in the patient’s ...

In replacement aortic valve procedures, bioprosthetic valves have become increasingly more common than mechanical replacements, since those made out of animal tissue are less likely to cause blood ...

AMES, Iowa – You’re in the middle of the aorta, the body’s pipeline for oxygen-rich blood, looking back toward the heart’s primary pump, the left ventricle. The ventricle muscle contracts and the ...

Earlier this year, when leaks around Louise Calhoun’s replacement mitral heart valve kept her from walking more than a few feet before needing to rest, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) ...

During heart valve replacement surgery, a surgeon replaces damaged or diseased valves in the heart. They can replace it with a mechanical valve or biological valve from a pig or cow. A person with ...

LOS ANGELES -- Survival outcomes favored mechanical valves for isolated surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) for people until age 60, after which a tissue valve may start to have an advantage, ...