P. Vaideeswar et al., CARDIAC-VALVE PROSTHESES AT AUTOPSY - AN ANALYSIS OF 337 CASES WITH CLINICOPATHOLOGICAL CORRELATION, Cardiovascular pathology, 6(5), 1997, pp. 279-286
We evaluated the pathologic findings at autopsy in 337 patients who ha
d undergone cardiac valve replacement over 10 years (1982 to 1991). Rh
eumatic heart disease was the most common indication for valve replace
ment (84% Of cases). Among the 255 patients with short-term survival (
<1 month), in 162 cases (63.5%), the cause of death was related to sur
gery and/or underlying cardiovascular conditions. Host-prosthetic valv
e interactions contributed to mortality in 14.9% cases. However, in lo
ngtime survivors (82 patients), a significant number (86.5%) showed ev
idence of prosthesis-related complications, such as infective endocard
itis, thrombosis, anticoagulant-related hemorrhage, and bioprosthetic
valve degeneration. (C) 1997 by Elsevier Science Inc.