Effects of Bileaflet Mechanical Mitral Valve Rotational Orientation on Left Ventricular Flow Conditions

We studied left ventricular flow patterns for a range of rotational orientations of a bileaflet mechanical heart valve (MHV) implanted in the mitral position of an elastic model of a beating left ventricle (LV). The valve was rotated through 3 angular positions (0, 45, and 90 degrees) about the LV long axis. ... MHV angular positions. Heart rate and stroke volume were kept constant. MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY We utilized a mechanical left heart model (ViVitro Labs, Inc., Victoria, Canada) (Fig. 1A). The model was comprised ...