Page "Artificial heart valve" Paragraph 56

* Non-thrombogenic-As natural heart valves are lined with an endothelium continuous with the endothelium lining the heart chambers they are not normally thrombogenic.

This is important as should thrombi form on the heart valve leaflets and become seeded with bacteria, so called " bacterial vegetations " will form.

Such vegetations are difficult for the body to deal with as the normal physiological defense mechanisms are not present within the valve leaflets because they are avascular and largely composed of connective tissue ( Fixme: Create article discussing the pathgonesis of leaflet bacterial vegetations .).

Should bacterial vegetations form on the valve leafets they may continually seed bacteria into the arterial tree which may lead to bacteremia or septicaemia.

Portions of the vegetation may also break off forming septic emboli.

Septic emboli can lodge anywhere in the arterial tree ( e. g. brain, bowel, lungs ) causing local infectious foci.

Even dislodged fragments from uninfected thrombi can be hazardous as they can lodge in, and block, downstream arteries ( e. g. coronary arteries leading to myocardial infarction, cerebral arteries leading to stroke, see embolism ).

A desirable characteristic of heart valve prostheses is that they are non or minimally thrombogenic.