Tip Sheets
Alain Carpentier and Albert Starr
Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research, 2007
- For the development of prosthetic mitral and aortic valves, which have prolonged and enhanced the lives of millions of people with heart disease
Fast Facts
- More than 90,000 people in the United States and approximately 300,000 people worldwide receive new heart valves annually
- Valve replacement is the second most common heart surgery in the United States, exceeded only by coronary bypass operations
Economic Analysis
Albert Starr, MD and Gary L. Grunkemeier, PhD. The cost and value of cardiothoracic procedures. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2007; 133:601-602
See also:
The value of aortic valve replacement in elderly patients: An economic analysis YingXing Wu, Gary L. Grunkemeier, and Albert Starr. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2007 133: 603-607
Cost-effectiveness of aortic valve replacement in the elderly: An introductory study. YingXing Wu, Ruyun Jin, Guangqiang Gao, Gary L. Grunkemeier, and Albert Starr. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 2007 133: 608-613
The Future of Research
Heart valves save lives, both mechanical ones pioneered by Starr and so-called bioprostheses—combinations of human or animal tissue and Teflon-coated steel—developed by Carpentier. The challenge today is to not only prolong life, but to return the lives of heart-valve recipients to normal by:
- Reducing the need for blood thinners in recipients of mechanical valves
- Finding ways to prevent deterioration of bioprostheses, especially for children and young people
- Improving the design and materials of artificial valves, including using valves from calves
- Developing minimally invasive heart surgery
Issue: Informed Consent
In an era before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulated medical devices, Starr set up an infrastructure for conducting clinical trials on his valves, including an informed-consent procedure and long-term patient tracking.
Informed consent: what's new
IRB: Ethics and Human Research
Informed consent: history
Resources: heart valves
National Institutes of Health: Medline Plus: Heart valve diseases
National Institutes of Health: Heart valve replacement tutorial
American Heart Association: heart valves
Heart valve surgery: current review