More than 5 million of the adult U.S. population
suffers from heart disease and heart valve dysfunction plays a large part which
leads to 20,000 deaths annually. The third most common cardiovascular (CV)
disease is aortic valve dysfunction. Heart valves maintain one-way flow of
blood to our body. Newborns can be born with heart valve malfunction. Heart
valve dysfunction can also be caused by mineralized calcium deposits that lead
to calcification and genetic defects in matrix protein structure. The medical
treatment for a valve malfunction is to replace the original valve with an
artificial one. Cardiac surgeries to replace heart valves are common and
improve life expectancy. Clinically, only mechanical and biological artificial
valves are used with some drawbacks. A new technique is tissue engineering (TE) that
is being researched and not yet performed clinically. This new method is a 3-D
scaffold that is fabricated as the template for neo-tissue development; appropriate
cells are then seeded to the matrix in vitro. This new technique can eliminate
the need for lifelong anti-coagulation (blood thinners), durability, and
reoperation problems.
I chose this complex topic of heart valves and scaffolding because I believe that this technology and science is amazing that we can create heart valves out of existing human cells as well as polymers and biological materials. I find this topic intriguing because of how important it is to have functioning heart valves to make sure we have circulation throughout our body, to and from our heart. I have always found the heart to be very interesting and the cardiac muscles and heart valves are a major part of development to keep the body perfusing. Working as a medical scribe in the ED I see people with cardiovascular issues on a daily basis and sometimes have valve issues such as mitral valve prolapse and mitral valve regurgitation and different valve malfunctions that require a valve replacement. These valve replacements are usually referred to as "pig valves" which are tissue valves that typically last 10-15 years. These valve replacements have extended people's life expectancy and they were able to live a full life with this procedure.
 |
| Heart valve analysis: valve opening and closing |
I chose this complex topic of heart valves and scaffolding because I believe that this technology and science is amazing that we can create heart valves out of existing human cells as well as polymers and biological materials. I find this topic intriguing because of how important it is to have functioning heart valves to make sure we have circulation throughout our body, to and from our heart. I have always found the heart to be very interesting and the cardiac muscles and heart valves are a major part of development to keep the body perfusing. Working as a medical scribe in the ED I see people with cardiovascular issues on a daily basis and sometimes have valve issues such as mitral valve prolapse and mitral valve regurgitation and different valve malfunctions that require a valve replacement. These valve replacements are usually referred to as "pig valves" which are tissue valves that typically last 10-15 years. These valve replacements have extended people's life expectancy and they were able to live a full life with this procedure.
