Question

As the heart pumps, the valves surrounding the heart open and close to prevent blood from flowing backward. Some patients with a heart disease need to have surgery to replace these valves. Doctors have designed two different types of valve replacements, mechanical and biological. The differences between the designs are shown in the table below.

Mechanical Biological
Likelihood of the valve
creating a blood clot? likely unlikely
Does the valve make
a noise? yes no
How long will medication
be taken after surgery? lifetime only 3 months
Likelihood of the
new valve failing? unlikely likely

An elderly patient is considering one of these designs for their heart valve replacement. Surgery at this patient's age can be dangerous. It is important that the design is durable and the possible number of heart surgeries is limited. Based on the information provided in the table, which design best matches the patient's criteria?
A.
Biological, because the patient will only take medicine for 3 months after the surgery.
B.
Mechanical, because it is likely that that the valve will create a blood clot.
C.
Mechanical, because it is unlikely that the new valve will fail.
D.
Biological, because the valve does not make a noise.

Answer 1

C. Mechanical, because it is unlikely that the new valve will fail.

An elderly patient needs a durable valve to minimize the chance of repeat (risky) surgeries; the mechanical valve is described as unlikely to fail, so it best matches those priorities.