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Heart Valve Replacement Facts

Heart valves regulate blood flow into and out of the heart by opening and closing repeatedly. Although surgeons prefer to first try and repair a defective heart valve, on some occasions, the need to replace them.

  1. Reason for Surgery

    • Heart valves must be replaced when they become damaged beyond repair and no longer open or close properly. In those instances, the blood may not be flow through the heart chambers correctly and the situation may prove life threatening.

    Procedure

    • The surgery involves making an incision in the heart or aorta region. Surgeons then remove the damaged valve and sew the prosthetic into the annulus, the circular tissue that supported the previous valve.

    Replacement Valves

    • Replacement heart valves come in two forms: mechanical or biological. Mechanical valves are made of synthetic materials; biological valves are from animal or donated human heart tissue.

    Warning

    • Blood clots tend to form on mechanical valves. As a result, recipients of mechanical valves must take blood-thinning medication. Biological valves do not last as long as mechanical valves, and another replacement surgery may be required down the road.

    Types

    • Two heart valves, aortic and pulmonary, regulate blood flow into the arteries, and the remaining two valves, mitral and tricuspid, prevent blood from gathering in the heart's chamber. Although 95 percent of most heart valve replacement surgery involves the mitral or aortic valve, doctors can replace the pulmonary and tricuspid valves.

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