Artificial Heart Valve

An artificial heart valve is a device which is implanted in the heart of patients who suffer from valvular diseases in their heart. When one or two of the four heart valves of the heart have a malfunction, the choice is normally to replace the natural valve with an artificial valve. This requires open-heart surgery.
Valves are integral to the normal physiological functioning of the human heart. Natural heart valves are structures which have evolved a form which meets their functional requirements, which is to induce largely unidirectional flow through themselves. Natural heart valves may become dysfunctional due to a variety of pathological causes. Certain heart valve pathologies may necessitate the complete surgical replacement of the natural heart valves with heart valve prostheses.

Heart assit Devices

Patients who have some remaining heart function but who can no longer live normally may be candidates for ventricular assist devices which do not replace the heart, but boost its output. The first heart assist device was FDA approved in 1994, and two more received approval in 1998.While the original assist devices emulated the pulsating heart newer versions, such as the Heartmate II.developed by the Texas Heart Institute of Houston, Texas, provide continuous flow. These pumps (which may be centrifugal or axial flow) are smaller and potentially more durable and long-lasting than the current generation of total heart replacement pumps. Several continuous flow ventricular assist devices have been approved for use in the European Union and as at August 2007 were undergoing clinical trials for FDA approval.

Artificial Heart

An artificial heart is a prosthetic device that is implanted into the body to replace the biological heart. It is distinct from a cardiopulmonary bypass machine (CPB), which is an external device used to provide the functions of both the heart and the lungs. The CPB oxygenates the blood, and therefore does not need to be connected to both blood circuits. Also, a CPB is suitable only for a few hours use, while artificial hearts have been used for periods longer than a year (as of 2007).