Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. While the past 40 years have brought major progress in cardiac valve repair and replacement, there remain large patient populations that do not receive such therapies. This, in turn, implies a great need for future basic, applied, and clinical research and, ultimately, therapeutic developments. Heart Valves is a state-of-the-art handbook dedicated to: 1) cardiac valve anatomy, 2) models for testing and research methods; 3) clinical trials; and 4) clinical needs and applications.

Principles of Heart Valve Engineering is the first comprehensive resource for heart valve engineering that covers a wide range of topics, including biology, epidemiology, imaging and cardiovascular medicine. It focuses on valves, therapies, and how to develop safer and more durable artificial valves. The book is suitable for an interdisciplinary audience, with contributions from bioengineers and cardiologists that includes coverage of valvular and potential future developments. This book provides an opportunity for bioengineers to study all topics relating to heart valve engineering in a single book as written by subject matter experts. Covers the depth and breadth of this interdisciplinary area of research Encompasses a wide range of topics, from basic science, to the translational applications of heart valve engineering Contains contributions from leading experts in the field that are heavily illustrated

T e four heart valves reside in the center of the heart. T is indicates their crucial role in cardiac performance. Fau- less function of the valves is a prerequisite for unidir- tional forward movement of the blood, and such function is necessary to support the ef orts of the cardiac atria and ventricles. Healthy heart valves function gracefully and of er mechanical durability. Bioengineers have to marvel at the biomechanical evolution of these perfectly placed valves. Heart valves can be involved in pathological processes, however, and only then do we realize just how indispensable they really are. At one time, serious valve disorders used to be a matter of life and death for patients. Only in recent decades have surgeons been able to reverse the ominous course of heart valve disease and of er patients a quality of life and life span comparable to that of healthy persons. T e story of this ef ort began approximately 100 years ago, and today heart valve surgery is a substantial subspecialty of cardiac surgery, with accumulated experience in indications, procedures, risks, and outcomes. T e aim of this book is to present a richly illustrated compendium of the present knowledge related to heart valve surgery, based on the clinical expertise of the authors as well as the newest treatment modalities. T e authors thank Dr. Alireeza Matloobi from the Mayo Clinic for his help in preparating the book.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) uses a screening tool called the Listing of Impairments to identify claimants who are so severely impaired that they cannot work at all and thus immediately qualify for benefits. In this report, the IOM makes several recommendations for improving SSA's capacity to determine disability benefits more quickly and efficiently using the Listings.

One of the most time-consuming tasks in clinical medicine is seeking the opinions of specialist colleagues. There is a pressure not only to make referrals appropriate but also to summarize the case in the language of the specialist. This book explains basic physiologic and pathophysiologic mechanisms of cardiovascular disease in a straightforward manner, gives guidelines as to when referral is appropriate, and, uniquely, explains what the specialist is likely to do. It is ideal for any hospital doctor, generalist, or even senior medical student who may need a cardiology opinion, or for that ma.

This state-of-the-art handbook is dedicated to cardiac valve anatomy, models for testing and research methods, clinical trials; and clinical needs and applications. In this new edition, chapters are updated with the latest research in addition to new chapters on complex repair of CHD requiring conduits, new trends for valve replacement like the Ozaki procedure, as well as complex procedures in TAV, SAV, HARPOON, and BASILICA, with case studies for each type of procedure. This volume serves as a helpful reference for patients, educators, students, device designers and developers, clinical study specialists, clinicians, and other associated healthcare providers.

This book provides a state-of-the-art description of the pathophysiology, diagnosis and management of valvular heart disease (VHD). With an aging population, the incidence and complexity of VHD has markedly increased and the introduction of transcatheter valve therapies have revolutionized the management of these frequent and serious cardiovascular diseases. The development of percutaneous valve interventions has revolutionized the management of VHD (or has dramatically changed its management) Heart Valve Disease: State of the Art is dedicated to provide up-to-date knowledge to clinical and interventional cardiologists, cardiovascular imagers and cardiac surgeons. It provides state-of-the-art information for the health-care professional working in heart valve clinics, heart teams, and centers of excellence that specialize in managing patients with heart valve disease.