I had a mitral valve replaced in 1990 with a mechanical valve.. Billions of heart beats later I am still going strong at 75!
I am also on high doses of warfarin.
Glad to see how they have improved the operations in the last 30 years.
My kid brother was one of the first infants to get a mechanical mitral valve, he died at 16 due to complications of the mitral valve causing an enlargement of a lower chamber of his heart causing a tear and bleed out.
He was due to go in for a replacement but passed 2 months before the surgery date.
This would have been a game changer for him. I’m glad they continue to develope better methods to save lives.