• About 2.7 million Americans suffer from leaky heart valves1 in which one of the four valves within the heart do not function properly to ensure that the blood flows in only one direction through the heart.

  • 100,000 Americans have repaired or replaced heart valves.2

  • The average life expectancy for untreated patients with severe heart valve disease is two years.1

  • Technological developments are improving tissue valve durability and longevity allowing for use in a wider range of patients who can now avoid life-long anti-coagulation therapy. Anticoagulation-therapy is financially and physically costly on mechanical heart valve patients. By avoiding these blood-thinning medications, tissue valve patients and the healthcare system benefit in numerous ways. Recent studies have revealed that the risks of anti-coagulation drugs, including a greater than 50% risk of a major bleeding or clotting event within 10 years, outweigh the benefits of mechanical heart valve therapy.3

  • Enhancements in bovine pericardial tissue heart valve technology can now help heart valves last as long as 20 years.4 Mechanical heart valves have a higher combined risk of major bleeding and reoperation than tissue heart valves, for patients over 60.5 The risks of reoperating on a patient with a tissue valve are much lower than a mechanical valve patient.6

  1. Freeman R.V., Otto C.M. (2005). Spectrum of Calcific Aortic Valve Disease: Pathogenesis, Disease Progression, and Treatment Strategies. Circulation. 2005; 111:3319-3321.

  2. American Heart Association. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2006 Update. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3018163(31 March 2006).

  3. Lim K.H.H., et al. Prospective randomized comparison of CarboMedics and St. Jude Medical bileaflet mechanical heart valve prostheses: An interim report. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2002; 123(1):21-32.

  4. Edwards Lifesciences 1982 IDE Clinical Cohort, data on file.

  5. Birkmeyer N., et al. Prosthetic Valve Type for Patients Undergoing Aortic Valve Replacement: A Decision Analysis. Ann Thorac Surg 2000; 70:1946-52.

  6. Jones TM, et al. Repeat heart valve surgery: Risk factors for operative mortality. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2001;122:913-8.
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