Open heart valve replacement: A case report

Abstract

Background: Heart valve replacement surgery is a procedure performed to treat heart valve disease, a condition characterized by damage or dysfunction of one or more of the heart’s four valves: the aortic valve, mitral valve, tricuspid valve, and pulmonary valve. When a valve becomes diseased, it can cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, fatigue, and fainting spells. Severe valve disease can lead to heart failure and other serious complications. Open-heart valve repair/replacement is widely used to treat various valvular pathologies. The development of percutaneous valve replacement technology may pave the way for less invasive treatment options. This study characterized the epidemiology of valvular repair and replacement procedures in the U.S. The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) was used to identify closed and open heart valvotomy, heart valve replacement, annuloplasty, and percutaneous valvotomy procedures between 1993 and 2007. NIS is an annual survey of ∼1,000 hospitals and contains 20% of the U.S. inpatient hospitalizations. The prevalence of these procedures was calculate as a function of age, gender, race, census region, and type of hospital.