Initial clinical experience with a hand-held device (Thrombocheck) for the detection of bileaflet prosthetic valve malfunction.

Background And Aim Of The Study: Early recognition of subclinical prosthetic valve malfunction may promote early treatment and avoidance of serious complications. Echocardiography cannot be applied on a daily basis; thus, a hand-held device (Thrombocheck) which is capable of detecting subtle changes in the acoustic sounds of prosthetic valve has been developed for the routine home monitoring of heart valve function. Herein is reported the authors' initial clinical experience with this device.