Figure 7.

Schematic of decision model structure. All patients are initially in the event-free state. With each 1-year cycle of the model, they can move to a different state or remain in the same state according to chance events specified under “Chance events each cycle”.

Notes: Event-free: alive without reoperation or major bleeding; Alive following reoperation: alive following reoperation for prosthetic valve failure; Alive following bleeding: alive following a major (requiring hospitalization or blood transfusion) bleeding event; Dead: dead from any cause. Copyright © 2000. Elsevier. Reprinted with permission from Birkmeyer NJ, Birkmeyer JD, Tosteson AN, et al. Prosthetic valve type for patients undergoing aortic valve replacement: a decision analysis. Ann Thorac Surg. 2000;70:1946–1952.²⁶