Recent content by pekster11

One of the best 400m runners of his generation, Roger Black knew he had a bicuspid aortic valve from age 11 (same age I was diagnosed). Initially he was pulled out of competitive sport (as I was) Just shows you before the valve becomes severely stenotic it's no hindrance to elite level athletic...

I watch Martin on Youtube aswell.. His shave videos are very good...usually chooses a pretty girl to do it too ;)

Happy Xmas folks:) Hope you had a happy & healthy year :cool:

Nearly 3 1/2 years post opp. All is good. Latest annual out patient check-up showed no problems....they're going to ask for me to attend the out-patient check up every 2 years now(y)

Since I've started taking low dose aspirin every other day I haven't experienced any more incidence of flashing lights or grey outs in my left eye. I'm convinced now this was being caused by micro-emboli

You'll be in a better position to watch it unfold in relative safety over there in Oz than where I am in a crowded island off the coast of Europe 😅

Foldax doing well in clinical trials it seems

On-X seems to have market penetration waaaay better than the other valve manufacturers So many people seem to believe it is a superior valve I agree their Marketing department is very good !

not yet. It's nothing severe and it's only occasionally I experience these things. Reading stuff on this forum has made me realise this is actually rather common for people who've had heart surgery

I experienced occasional (maybe a few times a year) grey outs in my left eye for about 5-7 years before surgery. I probably get them more frequently now (one every 6 weeks or so) Since surgery I also get occasional bouts of double vision, and my memory is definitely not as good as it was

Yes it seems , especially if the aortopathy has a genetic element to it, the descending aorta is more vulnerable to developing an aneurysm following ascending aorta/arch graft replacement

Here is a paper I've found that explains the sort of thing they're looking for when they do CT scans on people who have had an ascending aortic graft https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7067394/

I assumed the same thing about why I'm being CT scanned every year. They're checking to see the suture line between the native aorta and the dacron graft is not leaking or forming an aneurysm

I got a reply back from my consultant.....it seems regular CT scans are part of the standard follow up procedure for me: "It is good to hear from you. The surgical team carefully monitor your aorta for any uncommon long term aortic complications related to the bicuspid aortopathy and its...

I had a CT scan a few months after my operation in April 21, and another one in Summer 22 and another one in April 23...all at the request of surgical team. I believe they intend to ask for me to have a CT scan next year aswell I have been told that there is no problem with the mechanical valve...