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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Options relating to Aortic Valve Replacement
Answered by
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Options relating to Aortic Valve Replacement
by Jim Boylan, Aug 17, 1999 12:00AM
What are the current options relating ot Aortic Valve Replacement and what are the respective expected life of the replacements?
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, MD, Aug 17, 1999 12:00AM
, Aug 17, 1999 12:00AMDear Jim,
Thank you for your question. There are two main options for aortic valve replacement: mechanical and tissue. Examples of mechanical valves are St.Jude, Star-Edwards and Medtronic-Hall. The advantage of the mechanical valve is its long life (usually longer than the person receiving it). The disadvantage is the need for life-long coumadin. Tissue valves are made from pig or cow hearts and last about 5- 10 years. The main advantage is not having to take coumadin. Aortic homografts are from cadavers and also do not require anticoagulation and may last longer than other types of tissue valves. No one really knows how long but it is probably more than 10 years. The chief disadvantage of the homograft is availability.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
