| durability | Mechanical heart valves can last indefinitely (tested over 50,000 years in an accelerated tester) | ||
| types | Caged-ball valve | ||
| Tilting-disc valves | |||
| Bileaflet heart valves | |||
| materials | Carbon, titanium, titanium coated with pyrolytic carbon, Teflon (PTFE), polyester, dacron | ||
| side effects | Mechanical heart valves require lifelong treatment with blood thinners (anticoagulants) and periodically blood tests to monitor. | ||
| adverse effects | Blood clotting, thrombus formation. | ||
