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What Is a Biogenic Heart Valve?

Keeping you alive, your blood flow depends on the heart valves you were born with or, if one fails, on obtaining a competent replacement, be it mechanical or biogenic.

  1. The Valves

    • Your heart has four valves, each functioning to advance the flow of blood either into or out of one of the heart's two ventricles, according to Professor Gerard J. Tortora.

    Valve Replacement

    • When a valve malfunctions, the patient may need an artificial valve, notes Joyce M. Black, Ph.D. and her co-writers. The artificial valve may be either mechanical, consisting of materials such as metal, carbon or plastic, or biogenic, consisting of organic tissue, according to the Texas Heart Institute.

    Xenograft

    • A biogenic valve made of tissue taken from an animal, such as a cow or pig, is called a xenograft, notes the Texas Heart Institute.

    Human-Tissue Valve

    • When the biogenic valve consists of human tissue, it is either an allograft (made from someone else's tissue) or an autograft (made from the patient's own tissue), according to the Texas Heart Institute.

    Medical Implications

    • While mechanical valves require anticoagulant therapy for the remainder of the patient's life, biogenic valves normally do not, but biogenic valves lack the durability of mechanical ones, according to Joyce M. Black and her co-writers.

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