Despite guideline recommendations, the use of bioprosthetic heart valves has surpassed mechanical valves, but data from a large surgical database may lead to a reassessment of that practice.
When Nate and Marion Weeks got married 35 years ago, little did they know they’d each undergo heart surgery performed by the same doctor 18 years apart.
Patients aged between 50 to 70 years with a mechanical heart valve replacement had better long-term survival compared to those with a biological valve, new research has found.
Patients with predominantly cranial vs isolated extracranial GCA phenotypes present with different patterns of arterial involvement on 18F-FDG PET-CT scans.
With new transcatheter options for the repair or replacement of tricuspid valves, the role and timing of repair — whether surgical or minimally invasive — is entering a time of transition.