Key result
Mechanical heart valve prostheses successfully remedied aortic valve disease but required lifelong anticoagulation, resulting in high rates of bleeding and thrombosis complications.
A historical overview of the development of mechanical heart valves and the associated need for lifelong anticoagulation.
T he first mechanical heart valve prosthesis, designed by Dr Charles Hufnagel, was implanted to the descending aorta of a 30-year-old woman with severe aortic regurgitation in 1952. 1 Eight years after the initial successful prosthetic valve implantation, Dr Harken sutured a prosthetic valve (Starr Edwards Valve) to the aortic annulus after removing the diseased native valve.During the ensuing years, different types of valves made from pyrolytic carbon were tried.Though they successfully remedied the aortic valve disease, mechanical prosthesis required lifelong anticoagulation, resulting in high rates of bleeding and thrombosis complications.
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Tuzcu et al. (2012) conducted a review in Aortic valve disease. Mechanical heart valve prosthesis was evaluated. Mechanical heart valve prostheses successfully remedied aortic valve disease but required lifelong anticoagulation, resulting in high rates of bleeding and thrombosis complications.
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