Mechanical Heart Valve Replacements: An Introduction with Dr. Aqeel Sandhu

https://www.Heart-Valve-Surgery.com - Patients with defective heart valves that cannot be repaired have several options when selecting a heart valve replacement. There are biological valves made from cow (bovine) and pig (porcine) tissue. There are human donor valves known as homografts. And, there are mechanical heart valve replacements made from strong materials including pyrolytic carbon. Many leading heart surgeons agree that there is no "perfect" heart valve replacement device. Each type of heart valve replacement - biological, human donor and mechanical valves - have a unique set of advantages and disadvantages. To learn about mechanical heart valve replacements, we interviewed Dr. Aqeel Sandhu, the Surgical Director of the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute at Northwestern Medicine, Northwest Region. During his remarkable career, Dr. Sandhu has performed over 7,000 cardiac procedures. Questions asked-and-answered during this video include: 1. Why and when do patients need to have their heart valves replaced? 2. How is it determined which type of valve a patient receives? Patient preference? ACC/AHA medical guidelines? 3. What type of patient typically gets a mechanical valve? Why? 4. Can a mechanical valve replacement be used for each of the four valves? 5. What has been your experience with mechanical valves? 6. Patients assume if they get a mechanical valve, they will never need another operation. Is that true? 7. What are the re-operation rater for mechanical valves? Are they different for each valve (e.g. the aortic valve versus the mitral valve)? 8. What is the life expectancy of a patient who receives a mechanical valve? Is that less or more than a tissue valve replacement? 9. Many patients are excited by the potential outcome of the PROACT Xa clinical trial that may not require the use of warfarin as the blood thinner for the On-X valve? Are you familiar with that trial? Do you have any update on the trial? 9. Are there any other advances specific to mechanical valves that you can share with our patient community? 10. What is your #1 piece of advice for a patient considering a mechanical valve? To learn more about Dr. Aqeel Sandhu please call (888) 640-6915 or click https://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/s....