Failure of synthetic heart valves is usually caused by tearing and cal
cification of the leaflets. It is postulated that leaflet fibre-reinfo
rcement leads to a decrease of tears and perforations as a result of r
educed stresses in the weaker parts of the leaflets. A three-dimension
al finite element model of a reinforced three-leaflet valve prosthesis
was developed to analyse the stress reduction. Different fibre reinfo
rcements were investigated and the model responses were analysed for s
tresses that are expected to contribute to failure of fibre-reinforced
valve prostheses. Results of these simulations show that, in peak str
ess areas of reinforced models, up to 60% of the maximum principal str
esses is taken over by fibres and that, in some cases of reinforcement
, a more homogeneous stress distribution is obtained. (C) 1998 Elsevie
r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.