Mechanical Valve lifespan

[Gemma]

I'm going on a week's holiday with Jim tomorrow so taking the opportunity to post a couple of threads before I leave!

There's been a lot of speculation lately about how long mechanical valves will really last - 20 years? 200?

I fould this on the ATS medical FAQ page, and presumably their findings could be extrapolated to other newer generation mechanical valves:
http://www.atsmedical.com/Content/p_patfaq.php

"How long will my ATS Open Pivot® Heart Valve last without wearing out?
ATS Medical® has completed laboratory durability testing which indicates that the ATS Open Pivot® Heart Valve will last the lifetime of any patient. Its projected life is greater than 100 years. "

(Yes I know, that's assuming no other complications unrelated to the valve itself etc...)

It's an interesting page actually, has answers to several commonly asked questions re. mechanical valves.

Have a good week everyone

Gemma.

 

[terryj]

My husband has that particular ATS aortic valve. His surgery was 9/11/01. He was 52 at the time. Lets hope it lasts 100 years and him,too.

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Thanks for posting the article!

From my understanding........it not the valve the that "wears out" it's the suturing around the valve. My card informed at year 5 point my mecanical valve should give me another 15-20 years of service.

From what I have gathered from member redos for age/wear take place at the 27-29 mark.

When they say "lifetime" they are talking about an older patient at time of implant. If you are 60 at the time of your surgery. Pretty safe to say that valve will last a "lifetime"

 

[tobagotwo]

No question in my muddled mind that the mechanics and materials of most current, mechanical valves could last a full lifetime, if given the chance. Most often, other problems intervene. That is where the lowered averages likely come from (or the inclusion of much older valve technology in a study).

One of those problems was the tissue at the attachment. However, many of the newer valves do not have the amount of percussion that the older designs had. These are more forgiving on the supporting tissue. That should translate to longer useful lifetimes for them, particularly for those who have myxomatous tissue problems.

Of course, there are a variety of other issues that cause reops. However, there should be some folks with the same valve for over 30 years around. Just by odds, the right combination of luck and opportunity has to come together to let some mechanicals break the bank on years of service. I know there are a number of folks here who have come very close.

Best wishes,

 

[John & Joann]

Joann's original Starr-Edwards valves lasted for 28 years. The valves did not fail, but the suture material that holds the valves failed. Fortunately, a TEE discovered the problem. If more of the threads had let go, it would have been a DISASTER. Fortunately, the only permanet effect from the stroke was a slight loss of muscle around the left side of the mouth.

The newer valves that were installed and mentioned in an earlier post have less fabric and are expected to last even longer.

We both know that she is fortunate to not have any bleeding, other major illness, accidents, etc. Anyone with a history of valve surgery has more of a concern with issues that are minor for others.

We give thanks every day for the gift of 33 years of life and look forward to many more years.

I hope to write a post for Joann's 33rd anniversary of double mechanical valves in another week.

Clicking in the Buckeye State and looking forward to 3 months in Sunny Florida.

God Bless!

 

[Buzz Lanning]

Mechanical Valve Life

Mechanical Valve Life

The picture in the ATS brochure looks just like the St. Jude Valve I had implanted on July 6th. Note: I was able to get a real St. Jude valve for show & tell, which I have in my hand right now! Anyway, I was statistically hopeful my valve would last the rest of my life, but based on the comments here, perhaps I'm over optimistic? I knew about the suture problem (over many years), but I thought this was fairly uncommon.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Buzz Lanning]

Whoops!

Whoops!

After looking at my St. Jude Valve again (and comparing to the ATS brochure), there is a minor difference in the hinges.

Just wanted to make a quick correction!

 

[ShezaGirlie]

sheylathomas....?

sheylathomas....?

I'm interested in how you have come to the conclusions in your post above. Will you share your source and/or sources of information with us?

Welcome to VR.COM...

 

[Mary]

ST,
Then my question is how and why have you wandered into the Forum? If you're not in need of heart valve replacement or have a family member or friend who is, why did you seek this site out?

I hope I don't sound negative (dubious is more like it), but the issue of vale replacement is very personal to members. This isn't an academic exercise; it represents our lives. Are you facing a replacement or do you have someone on the forum who is?
Although I appreciate the critical, intellectual discussions of valve replacement, I find the personal experiences of members more relevant.

I suppose I listen to people who "walk the walk" more than those who "talk the talk." Are you a "walker" or a "talker"?
Mary

 

[Nancy]

Well, Joe's old early model spherical aortic (Bjork-Shiley), is still in place and was implanted in 1977. It's definitely a big old chugging thing, but from all accounts, still in good working order, so far. It's an early model, not the one which had catastrophic failures.

Unlike the newer valves, it does chop up his blood quite a bit. He's on ProCrit to counteract that. And it occupies a lot of space in the heart. He also has a St. Jude mitral mechanical.

 

[Gail in Ca]

When I asked my cardiologist how long the carbomedic valve would last, when placed at age 46, he said my lifetime. That's good enough for me.
Why worry unneccessarily about how many years one will get out of a mechanical valve? I have already been thru 2 avr surgeries and still have a mod leaky mitral so I may face a 3rd anyway. At that time my doc can check out the mechanical, I suppose. I take Cozaar to take pressure off the valve that leaks, and I also have connective tissue issues.
I will leave the worrying to my doctor and get the needed rechecks and tests yearly.
Gail

 

[Ross]

I know mine will last a lifetime. If it's going to need replaced, my life is over anyway. I won't make it through yet another surgery and I'm quite sure of that.

 

[Les]

Why worry unneccessarily about how many years one will get out of a mechanical valve? I will leave the worrying to my doctor and get the needed rechecks and tests yearly.
Gail

You're right, Gail...Been through two AVR surgeries myself and this one too is leaking because of the suture ring pulling loose. Lifetime is relative. To quote Alfred E. Neuman: "What Me Worry?"

 

[Rush20]

You're right, Gail...Been through two AVR surgeries myself and this one too is leaking because of the suture ring pulling loose. Lifetime is relative. To quote Alfred E. Neuman: "What Me Worry?"

...which brings me back to a question I posted in the Active Lifestyle forum last year. If the true risk of the mechanical valve failing is associated with the actual suture to the heart tissue, than is there any additional truth or findings that support weight lifting as a bad activity for valve patients?

Meaning, by pumping blood to the muscles worked, does the extra intense blood flow (anaerobic vs. aerobic) potentially pose risk to the valve suture?

 

[Les]

Allen,
I don't know if intense blood flow adversely affects the sutures although I have heard a few things about heavy weight lifting possibly causing problems in that area. I know there are several weightlifters on this board who hopefully can share their knowledge with you. My situation is that endocarditis destroyed a large area of heart tissue to sew the valve to. I have my first St Jude and it looks as new as if out of the box although it was only implanted for 865 days. This second one just celebrated nine years on December 5th. My surgeon informed me just recently there's not much good tissue to anchor the third replacement, so as long as I'm doing OK, he prefers to wait. Meanwhile, being asymptomatic, I continue to run with the blessings of my cardiologist and fully intend on another marathon in 2005.

 

[Harpoon]

On the lab testing:

It's fairly safe to say that no one actually KNOWS if an artificial heart valve will last for 100 years or more because no one has ever LIVED that long with a mechanical heart valve.

In fact, no such thing exsisted 100 years ago.

Pretty plain and simple eh?

The testing they use to make such claims is based on machines designed to mimic normal heart pumping action over a long period of time, however they speed up the action so they don't have to wait decades to see if a valve fails or not. There's other stuff put into this that's not worth getting into, but they, on a scientific basis, make as close to an accurate approximation of normal heart valve lifetime in an artificial setting and see how well a valve will stand up to it.

Generally, plastics and metals will last for centuries if left relatively untouched. It's possible that a body's immune system would eventually reject the foreign mass, either by isolating tissues where the valve has been sutured in place or through platelet, formation (clotting) around the valve surfaces...

Physical activity could play a role in this as well as diet, smoking, alcohol, and who knows what else.

I think it's safe to just say you're going to life a long life and leave it at that. Whatever else happens along the way happens whether you like it or not. I figure I'm more likely to get hit by a car and be killed tomorrow than have my artificial tricuspid valve fall apart on me.

The valve's there, it's not going anywhere. There are "greater" things in life to worry about. =)