Mechanical characterization and materials modeling frameworks for prosthetic heart valves: investigations and future directions in computational biomechanics

Prosthetic heart valve (PHV) replacement is an effective treatment for valvular heart disease. The mechanical behavior of heart valves, encompassing solid mechanics, fluid dynamics, and FSI, is fundamental to diagnosing dysfunction and guiding design. This review critically analyzes PHV mechanics, including constitutive modeling, stiffness and strength evaluation, vibroacoustic response, fatigue and fracture, FSI simulation, viscoelastic effects, and hemodynamics. It further summarizes numerical, experimental, and AI-assisted investigation methods, and outlines current challenges and future directions in computational mechanics for PHVs, providing interdisciplinary insights for bioengineering and biomedical applications.