Introduction
An artificial heart valve is given to patients whose own valve on the heart is so defective that it can no longer adequately fulfil its function. For the heart to be able to pump the blood into the body, it is important that the valves open and close well so that the blood can be transported further. There are basically two different valve diseases, called stenosis and insufficiency.
In valve stenosis, a heart valve cannot open properly and not enough blood can flow through it, causing blood to congest in the area in front of the valve. With an insufficiency it is exactly the opposite. The heart valve does not close properly.
It no longer prevents the blood from flowing back. Thus, depending on the severity of the insufficiency, blood can flow back in the direction from which it came. This also leads to an increased blood volume in front of the valve.
So if a heart valve no longer functions properly, certain areas of the heart are subjected to stress over a longer period of time. This stress means that the heart can no longer pump blood effectively, which can lead to heart failure. This cardiac insufficiency, also called heart failure, can be treated with medication at the beginning. However, if medication is no longer sufficient, the installation of an artificial heart valve is necessary.
How long does an artificial heart valve last?
A frequent question that patients ask themselves when they receive an artificial heart valve is “how long will it last? The first thing to know is that there are different types of artificial heart valves. On the one hand, there are the mechanical heart valves made of metal, on the other hand there are biological valves.
The biological valve, on the other hand, is made of animal material, which often comes from pigs, or as a human valve, which comes from dead donors, also called “homologous valve replacement”. However, the possibility of a human donation is currently very rare. Most biological valves used in humans therefore come from pigs.
In general, it can be said that mechanical heart valves last much longer than biological valves. This is a great advantage, since the long durability may possibly avoid a second heart operation. Mechanical heart valves can last for several decades.
In principle, such a heart valve can even last a lifetime. In contrast, the shorter durability is a disadvantage of biological valves. On average, biological heart valves only last for about 10-15 years.
Since, like human tissue, they are also subject to aging processes such as calcification, they are only fully functional for a limited period of time. Younger patients age much more quickly and thus valve function deteriorates. Therefore, one selection criterion for the valve is the age of the affected patient. In older patients (over 75 years of age), one would probably tend more towards a biological heart valve. In younger patients, however, one would tend to choose a mechanical valve to avoid the risk of a second operation.