Developing smarter heart valves that last longer

Engineered bio-scaffolds for heart valve replacements

BHF Professor Gianni Angelini is looking for ways to prolong the life of biological prosthetic heart valves used to replace faulty valves in people with heart valve disease. Many people with heart valve disease need little or no treatment and can live a normal life for many years. However, with time they may need to have the faulty heart valve replaced. Biological prosthetic valves are increasingly used to replace faulty heart valves because, with this type of valve, patients don’t need to take anticlotting drugs for their lifetime. But biological prosthetic valves still have a limited lifespan; ultimately they degrade and can harden with calcium so they do not work effectively. A longer-lasting biological prosthetic valve would avoid the need for repeat surgery. In this project, Professor Angelini and his team aim to develop a new biological prosthetic valve that lasts longer because it is more resistant to mechanical damage and less prone to hardening by calcium build-up. The researchers will study cells taken from human veins in the leg, which have been shown to resist calcium build-up. They will also test different materials in biological conditions with and without the cells to optimise the valve’s lifespan. This research could lead to a new, biological prosthetic valve that lasts longer than current biological heart valve replacements. This could avoid the need for repeat operations, vastly improving the quality of life for people with heart valve disease.