The management of women with mechanical heart valves during pregnancy remains difficult and controversial. The selection of prosthetic heart valve, management during pregnancy and delivery period, guidelines and anticoagulation strategy used in patients with a mechanical heart valve in China are summarized in this review.
ObjectiveTo develop a predictive model for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) following cardiac mechanical valve replacement under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) using artificial intelligence algorithms, providing a novel method for early identification of high-risk ARDS patients. MethodsPatients undergoing CPB-assisted cardiac mechanical valve replacement surgery in the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at the First Hospital of Lanzhou University from January 2023 to March 2025 were retrospectively and consecutively enrolled. Data processing and model construction were performed using Python software. Variables with missing data proportions ≥30% were excluded, while multiple imputation combined with sensitivity analysis and standardization was applied to the remaining dataset. The dataset was randomly partitioned into training (70%) and testing (30%) sets. Feature selection was conducted using the Boruta algorithm and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression. The synthetic minority over-sampling technique edited nearest neighbors (SMOTEEN) algorithm was applied to balance samples in the training set. Six machine learning models, including random forest, light gradient boosting machine, extreme gradient boosting, categorical boosting (CatBoost), gradient boosting decision tree, and logistic regression, were developed through 5-fold nested cross-validation for parameter optimization. Model performance was evaluated via area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, average precision, recall rate, and F1 score. The optimal model was determined based on AUC values and validated through Hosmer-Lemeshow (HL) goodness-of-fit test. Decision curve analysis was performed for all models, while SHAP algorithm was employed for feature interpretation and visualization. External validation was conducted using clinical data from patients who underwent CPB-assisted mechanical valve replacement between April 1 and October 1, 2025. ResultsA total of 352 patients were included [training set: n=246, 135 males, 111 females, aged (51.71±11.03) years; testing set: n=106, 62 males, 44 females, aged (53.27±9.67) years], with 34 (9.7%) patients developing early ARDS in ICU. Key predictors included cardioplegia duration, right atrial transverse diameter, right ventricular transverse diameter, indirect bilirubin, and rewarming time. The CatBoost model demonstrated superior performance (AUC=0.828) with HL test P=0.64. In the single-center temporal validation cohort [n=41, 25 males, 16 females, aged (52.18±10.56) years], the CatBoost model achieved AUC=0.771. ConclusionCardiac arrest duration, right atrial transverse diameter, right ventricular transverse diameter, indirect bilirubin, and rewarming time are identified as critical factors influencing postoperative ARDS development after CPB-assisted mechanical valve replacement. The CatBoost model exhibits excellent accuracy, consistency, and clinical applicability.
