Attempts to replace diseased human valves with prostheses began more than 30 yrs ago.
Heart valve prostheses can be broadly classified into mechanical prostheses (made out of …

Despite the significant advances in cardiac surgery, heart valve replacement still faces a
dilemma. While mechanical valves offer lifelong durability they also commit patients to …

Substitute heart valves composed of human or animal tissues have been used since the
early 1960s, when aortic valves obtained fresh from human cadavers were transplanted to …

Calcification plays a major role in the failure of bioprosthetic and other tissue heart valve
substitutes. Tissue valve calcification is initiated primarily within residual cells that have …

Clinical and experimental studies indicate that calcification of bioprosthetic valves depends
on host, implant, and biomechanical factors. The earliest mineral deposits in both clinical …

Ectopic or dystrophic calcification promotes premature implant and medical device failure.
This chapter summarizes the various mechanisms of calcification proposed in the literature …

Calcification is a recurrent problem in patients suffering from heart valve disease and it is the
main cause of failure in biological heart valve prostheses. The development of reliable …

Calcification-induced stenosis or tearing is the principal cause of failure of clinical heart
valve bioprostheses fabricated from glutaraldehyde-pretreated porcine aortic valves and …

Surgical replacement with artificial devices has revolutionised the care of patients with
severe valvular diseases. Mechanical valves are very durable, but require long-term …

Natural and bioprosthetic heart valves suffer from calcification, despite their differences in
etiology and tissue material. The mechanism of developing calcific deposits in valve tissue is …