Comparison of Mitral Heart Valve Prostheses: ATS Versus St Jude-Medical

ATS is a new rotatable, bileaflet pyrolytic carbon valve with a low profile. The haemodynamic performance of this new valve was assessed by Doppler-echocardiography and compared with the well-known bileaflet St Jude-Medical prosthesis, one year after implantation in mitral position. Among 20 patients who received an ATS and the remaining 9 patients a St Jude valve the following parameters were measured and calculated: maximum and mean pressure gradients, effective orifice area and performance index. After one year of follow-up, the preliminary results of this study showed that the haemodynamic parameters by Doppler-echocardiography of this new ATS valve is excellent and similar to the St Jude medical valve in mitral position.