Thrombotic complications of mechanical heart valves: An experimental and theoretical study

Valve replacement is the most common surgical treatment in patients with advanced valvular heart disease. Mechanical and bio-prostheses have been the traditional heart valve replacements in these patients. However, currently the heart valves for replacement therapy are imperfect and subject patients to one or more ongoing risks, including thrombosis, limited durability, and need for re-operations due to the lack of growth in pediatric populations. The objective of our work was to evaluate the risk of thrombus formation for a 24 mm bileaflet mechanical heart valve, by assessing its leakage jets and its near-hinge flow fields. Our in-vitro study was carried out both experimentally, by using the PIV facility provided by Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, and theoretically, by using the CFD facilities from Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania.