We will ask patients who take part questions about their physical activities and quality of life before and after their operation. We will also check other important factors to see how well patients recover, including how well their valve works up to twelve weeks and twelve months after surgery using a heart scan (called an echocardiogram). We will ask patients to wear a device that measures their activity for one week on seven occasions; the device looks like a wrist-watch and can be worn all day and all night.

Any complications following a patient's operation will be recorded from their medical records. We will also calculate the costs of care for each operation by looking at medical records to see how often patients are seen in hospital after their operation. Patients who take part will attend hospital a few times in the first year, after this we will continue to check their progress by reviewing their medical notes. We will ask patients to confirm that they are happy that we keep looking at their medical records, even after the trial is finished.",