In the next revision of my book, I am going to provide even more information about the different types of heart valve replacements.

Over the past few months, I have met with several heart valve replacement manufacturers ^[1]. Needless to say, I am learning a lot about the new technologies and the old faithfuls of the industry.

One of the tissue valve replacement types that I constantly receive questions about is the Biocore Aortic Valve from St. Jude Medical.

As you may have seen, St. Jude just received FDA approval for its Epic Stented Valve. It’s interesting to note that the Epic Stented Valve is built upon the architecture of the Biocore Aortic Valve.

That said, here is some more information about the Biocore Aortic Valve made by St. Jude Medical:

• The first research note to make is that the Biocore Aortic Valve has been around for a long, long, long, long time. There is clinical data on the Biocore valve going back 20 years.
• It should also be noted that the Biocore is not just for aortic position replacement ^[2]. The Biocore valve can also be fit for mitral valve replacement ^[3] as well.
• The Biocore valve uses a porcine valve tissue ^[4]. For those unfamiliar with the term porcine, that means it is a pig valve replacement ^[5].

I hope that helps explain a little more about the Biocore Aortic Valve by St. Jude Medical.

Keep on tickin,