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Q1.
A patient with a leaking heart valve may have the valve replaced.
A study compared two different types of replacement heart valve:
• mechanical valves
• biological valves from pigs.
The data used in the study was collected from female patients aged 50–69.
The following table shows the data
Evaluate the use of mechanical replacement heart valves and biological
replacement heart valves.
Use information from the table above and your own knowledge
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(6)
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Mechanical valves are more reliable than biological valves because less patients have been required to have a valve replacement after 6 years. Furthermore, Mechanical valves are safer because there has been a higher percentage of patients who have been alive after 5 years compared to biological valves. On the other hand, Mechanical valves maybe risky because there has been a higher percentage of patients who have had a blood clot on their brain whereas only 0.1 percent of patients have had a blood clot with a biological valve. Mechanical valves may be more reliable as a larger amount of people have been given this valve – 2852 compared to 1754 people with biological valves. Mechanical Valves may also be better because there is a lower risk of rejection from the body compared to a biological valve as it has come from a pig.
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Mechanical Valves:
Mechanical valves last a long time.
You need to take blood-thinning medicine forever.
If you don’t take the medicine properly, you could get a blood clot or heart attack.
The medicine can make you bleed more if you get hurt.
Biological Valves:
You don’t need to take blood-thinning medicine every day.
Some people don’t like using animal parts for valves.
The valve can get hard over time and stop working well.
You might need another valve later on.
Both Valves:
Both types of valves are easy to get.
There is usually not a long wait for surgery.
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