Valvar heart disease is an important public health problem, more common in developing countries, especially in younger. Objective: To evaluate the epidemiological features of patients and its influence on the prosthesis type choice used on patients who underwent valve surgery. Methods: Cross-sectional. Data such as age, sex, provenance, surgery procedure and prosthesis type were retrospectively analyzed. We reviewed 366 charts of all patients submitted to heart valve surgery during three years

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... n a public health cardiovascular treatment center. Results: 52% of patients were female. The age range was from 5 to 82, the median was 41 years old. In regards 37.7% of patients came from Salvador (Bahia, Brazil) and 62.3% from countryside. Valve replacement was performed in 73% of patients, whereas 7.38% underwent valvuloplasty and 18.3% underwent valve repair and replacement. Regarding type of prosthesis, 70.0% received bioprosthesis and 30.0% received metal prosthesis. On note bioprosthesis were more used in younger (66 vs. 14; P<0,001). Conclusion: Biological prostheses were used predominantly in younger. This might be possible due to a low social-economic status, avoiding metal valve implantation and the consequent anticoagulation therapy. Descriptors: Heart valve diseases. Prosthesis implantation. Socioeconomic factors. Resumo Introdução: A doença cardíaca valvar é um grave problema de saúde pública, mais frequente em países em desenvolvimento, acometendo indivíduos em idade laboralmente produtiva. Objetivo: Avaliar o perfil socioeconômico e RBCCV 44205-1373 Fernandes AMS, et al. -Impact of socio-economic profile on the prosthesis type choice used on heart surgery Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc 2012;27(2):211-6 Fernandes AMS, et al. -Impact of socio-economic profile on the prosthesis type choice used on heart surgery Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc 2012;27(2):211-6