Artificial heart valve thinners which must be tested and monitored constantly or it may be the constant ticking noise of the valve, which can be heard sometimes several feet away from the patient forever 24-7. There are three main types of artificial heart valves: the "mechanical,"the "biological," and the "tissue engineered" valves. Mechanical heart valves (MHV) are prosthetics designed to replicate the function of the natural valves of the human heart. The human heart contains four valves: tricuspid valve, pulmonic valve, mitral valve and aortic valve. Their main purpose is to maintain unimpeded forward flow through the heart and from the heart into
Mitral valve annuloplasty the native annulus and some of its natural dynamics. The goal of semi-rigid rings is to maintain coaptation and valve integrity during systole, while allowing for good hemodynamics during diastole. Rigid rings are designed to provide rigid support in large dilation and under high-pressure. Annuloplasty devices usually come in different sizes. The surgeon can estimate the dimensions of the patient’s mitral valve and decide on an appropriate ring size. Depending on the disease etiology, different approaches are taken. Surgeons can decide to "undersize" the device, "truesize" the device, or "oversize" it. Annuloplasty devices are classified by the U.S. Food and