Mitral valve repair artificial mitral valve has an elevated risk of stroke. Patients with mechanical heart valves who use warfarin for anticoagulation have to be on long-term anticoagulation therapy. This means they must go to the clinic and have a lab blood draw done, typically once a month but more frequently if the level needs to be closely monitored until it is in the therapeutic range. The therapeutic range for most adults with a mechanical valve is an INR of 2.5–3.5. Finally, artificial tissue valves will wear out – on average lasting between 10 and 15 years, requiring further surgery at an advanced
Mitral valve stenosis in 3 stages. First, the distal portion (lying in the left ventricle) is inflated and pulled against the valve cusps. Second, the proximal portion is dilated, in order to fix the centre segment at the valve orifice. Finally, the central section is inflated, this should take no longer than 30 seconds, since full inflation obstructs the valve and causes congestion, leading to circulatory arrest and flash pulmonary edema. With careful patient pre-selection, percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty (PBMV) is associated with good success rates and a low rate of complications. By far the most serious adverse event is the occurrence of