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What Types of Materials Are Used in Heart Valves?

Artificial heart valves are surgically implanted in people who have suffered damage of some kind to their original valves. Different materials are used to create these valves. New materials have come into use as surgical knowledge and technology improves, and certain valves are recommended by doctors in specific situations, based on factors such as the age and health of the patient.

  1. Mechanical Valves

    • Sometimes, a mechanical valve is fabricated and installed into the heart of the patient. Some patients hear the clicking of the mechanical valve after the surgery is successfully completed. The good thing about mechanical valves is that they are very long lasting. The valve will often outlive the patient when a mechanical replacement is used. Carbon fiber is the typical material used in creating modern mechanical heart valves.

    Porcine Valves

    • In many ways, pig physiology is much closer to that of humans than many people realize. This creates the potential to use certain parts from pigs in human surgeries. When animal valves are used in humans, the procedure is known as a xenograft. The upsides to pig valves is that they last almost fifteen years, and don't require daily medication maintenance the way a mechanical valve does.

    Bovine Valves

    • The other type of heart valve xenografting is sometimes performed using a bovine valve. This means the heart valve comes from a cow rather than from a pig. The valves are actually made using tissue taken from the pericardium of a cow. The benefits to this type of valve is that they are manufactured to last longer than porcine valves. This makes them suitable for use in younger patients, while porcine valves are generally given to older patients.

    Human Valves

    • In some situations, a valve replacement is done using actual human tissue. This can be done using tissue that comes from an organ donor, or in special situations from tissue that is used from the patient's own heart. A complex procedure known as the Ross procedure involves taking one of the other valves of a patient's heart and using it to replace the important aortic valve. This is a procedure reserved for younger and stronger patients in most cases.

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