Mechanics of Porcine Heart Valves’ Strut Chordae Tendineae Investigated as a Leaflet–Chordae–Papillary Muscle Entity

Porcine atrioventricular valve strut chordae tendineae were tested using a configuration that retained leaflet, chordae, and papillary muscle attachments during loading. This setup was used to preserve native anatomical interactions during mechanical loading and to better reflect cardiovascular tissue biomechanics. Mechanical testing was performed primarily under uniaxial loading, with results considered in the context of heart valve biaxial testing approaches used for soft cardiac tissues. Nonlinear and direction-dependent stress–stretch responses were observed, along with regional differences between mitral and tricuspid valves. Mitral strut chordae showed greater thickness and extensibility than tricuspid samples. Experimental data were fit using an Ogden hyperelastic model to obtain constitutive parameters for computational modeling. Comparisons indicated that retaining leaflet and papillary muscle attachments influenced measured chordal mechanics and altered the resulting material properties used in heart valve simulations.