United States: St. Jude Medical, Inc. a global medical device company, has announced that the company will celebrate the treatment of more than 2 million patients with its mechanical heart valve technology. This milestone, a landmark achievement for prosthetic heart valves, demonstrates the company’s commitment to cardiac surgery and improving patient outcomes.

For more than 30 years, St. Jude Medical has offered patients the gold standard in mechanical heart valve performance and durability. Today, with more than 2 million patients benefiting from its proven valve technology, St. Jude Medical commemorates this important milestone with leading physicians and institutions around the world that have contributed to the success of its mechanical heart valve products.

“The St. Jude Medical mechanical heart valve has been trusted for more than 30 years and is considered the gold standard. Because of the valve’s reliability, its unique qualities and my own experience, I most often will use the St. Jude Medical valves when a mechanical valve replacement is indicated,” said Dr. Naresh Trehan, Chairman & Managing Director of Medanta – The Medicity, located in Dehli, India.

As a pioneer in heart valve technology, St. Jude Medical continues to innovate replacement technologies for patients with diseased, damaged or malfunctioning heart valves. Using the same market-leading expertise as was used for its mechanical heart valve technology, St. Jude Medical has developed the Trifecta™ heart valve, a next-generation tissue valve that has a tri-leaflet stented pericardial design for excellent hemodynamic performance. Designed to be implanted in the supra-annular aortic position, the valve features leaflets manufactured from pericardial tissue attached to the exterior of the valve stent. This design allows the leaflets to open more fully and efficiently, mimicking the performance of a healthy aortic heart valve, while also minimizing tissue abrasion through tissue-to-tissue (stent-to-leaflet) contact.

“For years, St. Jude Medical has worked closely with physicians and institutions around the world to develop our exceptional valve technology,” said Frank J. Callaghan, president of the St. Jude Medical Cardiovascular Division. “This significant milestone is more than just a number, it signifies the trust and confidence physicians have in St. Jude Medical valves. As we move forward with new technologies like our Trifecta valve, we are not only continuing the legacy that was instilled by our mechanical valves, but innovating advanced, best-in-class life-saving technologies.”

The St. Jude Medical valve product portfolio includes market-leading mechanical heart valves, valve annuloplasty rings, porcine tissue valves with superior durability for both the aortic and mitral positions and Trifecta, the newest stented bovine pericardial tissue valve designed for superior hemodynamics.

The Trifecta valve received European CE Mark approval and was fully launched in Europe in 2010. The Trifecta valve is not approved for use in India or the United States.