EDITORIAL

The Edinburgh heart valve study

K M Taylor

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor KM Taylor, Cardiothoracic Surgical Unit, Second Floor, B Block, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN, UK:
scarroll@imperial.ac.uk

---

The durability of artificial heart valves is a key consideration, particular in an increasingly elderly population. So which type of artificial valve is preferable—mechanical or bioprosthetic?

---

Keywords: heart valves; mechanical valves; bioprosthetic valves

Abbreviations: AVR, aortic valve replacement; MVR, mitral valve replacement; UKHVR, UK Heart Valve Registry

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Durability has always been a crucial performance indicator for artificial heart valves. There is the intrinsic durability of the valve itself, as constructed by the manufacturer, but it is the durability of the implanted valve in the individual patient which is the real issue, particularly, but not solely, for the patient. Progress in the design and manufacture of artificial heart valves has arisen from information gained from pulse duplicator studies, from fatigue testing, and from animal implants—but the bottom line is durability once implanted in the patient, and the longer the follow up the better.

The Edinburgh heart valve study of 533 patients, who had their valve implant(s) between 1975 and 1979, now reports comparative clinical outcome for mechanical versus bioprosthetic valves at 20 years.¹ The present report supplements a 12 year follow up, published in 1991.² The original study was prospective and randomised. The study design was modified in . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• 2006 WRITING COMMITTEE MEMBERS, , Bonow, R. O., Carabello, B. A., Chatterjee, K., de Leon, A. C. Jr, Faxon, D. P., Freed, M. D., Gaasch, W. H., Lytle, B. W., Nishimura, R. A., O'Gara, P. T., O'Rourke, R. A., Otto, C. M., Shah, P. M., Shanewise, J. S. (2008). 2008 Focused Update Incorporated Into the ACC/AHA 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 1998 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease): Endorsed by the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Circulation 118: e523-e661 [Full Text]  
• Bonow, R. O., Carabello, B. A., Chatterjee, K., de Leon, A. C. Jr, Faxon, D. P., Freed, M. D., Gaasch, W. H., Lytle, B. W., Nishimura, R. A., O'Gara, P. T., O'Rourke, R. A., Otto, C. M., Shah, P. M., Shanewise, J. S., Nishimura, R. A., Carabello, B. A., Faxon, D. P., Freed, M. D., Lytle, B. W., O'Gara, P. T., O'Rourke, R. A., Shah, P. M. (2008). 2008 Focused Update Incorporated Into the ACC/AHA 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 1998 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease) Endorsed by the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists, Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and Society of Thoracic Surgeons. J Am Coll Cardiol 52: e1-e142 [Full Text]  
• Emery, R. W., Emery, A. M., Knutsen, A., Raikar, G. V. (2008). Aortic Valve Replacement with a Mechanical Cardiac Valve Prosthesis. Card Surg Adult 3: 841-856 [Full Text]  
• Bonow, R. O., Carabello, B. A., Chatterjee, K., de Leon, A. C. Jr, Faxon, D. P., Freed, M. D., Gaasch, W. H., Lytle, B. W., Nishimura, R. A., O'Gara, P. T., O'Rourke, R. A., Otto, C. M., Shah, P. M., Shanewise, J. S., Smith, S. C. Jr, Jacobs, A. K., Adams, C. D., Anderson, J. L., Antman, E. M., Faxon, D. P., Fuster, V., Halperin, J. L., Hiratzka, L. F., Hunt, S. A., Lytle, B. W., Nishimura, R., Page, R. L., Riegel, B. (2006). ACC/AHA 2006 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines (Writing Committee to Revise the 1998 Guidelines for the Management of Patients With Valvular Heart Disease) Developed in Collaboration With the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists Endorsed by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. J Am Coll Cardiol 48: e1-e148 [Full Text]