Doctor... Doctor !!

I have never been a doctor and never had any interest, till I lost my uncle due to heart attack since then I am studying about heart and its related surgery. The heart is a muscular organ in all vertebrates responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels. I got all the great information about the heart and its problems from www.umm.edu.
The mitral valve (also known as the bicuspid valve or left atrioventricular valve), is a dual flap (bi = 2) valve in the heart that lies between the left atrium (LA) and the left ventricle (LV).
At the Maryland Heart Center, we specialize in the surgical treatment of valvular disease, including mitral valve repair surgery. Mitral valve repair is used to treat regurgitation (leakage) or stenosis (narrowing) of the mitral valve. Traditionally, surgeons have treated mitral valve disease by removing the diseased valve and implanting an artificial valve (valve replacement).
Maryland Heart Center surgeons will first recommend the repair of the valve instead of mitral valve replacement. If a patient is not a good candidate for mitral valve repair, our surgeons are experienced performing mitral valve replacement with several varieties of artificial valves including mechanical (metal) valves and tissue valves.
There are two primary types of artificial mitral valves -- a metal valve and a tissue valve. The metal valve lasts a lifetime, and with this valve, patients are required to take blood-thinning medications to prevent clotting. The tissue valve does not require a patient to take blood thinners, but it will last only 10 to 15 years.

For further information, please log on to http://www.umm.edu/