Recent content by perrybucsdad

Hey wait a minute... I thought at the 50 year mark they give you a new Lexus or something. :) So what type of valve did they implant back in 1967? Was it the ball in cage?

I also believe, that too much calcium (not sure what this value would be) can also be bad for the heart. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/too-much-calcium-supplements#:~:text=In%20fact%2C%20high%20calcium%20levels,to%20life%2Dthreatening%20heart%20problems.

I know I have differences between my left and right arms, but I was told that it has to do with the Coart repair from my younger days, not from my valve. I never fully understood this as I thought the arteries to both arms come off the aorta normally before where a Coart happens (brachiocephalic...

Also found this. Full Text article should be available as well. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31346202/

Here is a link to one article (I have not heard of the resource before so I don't know how reliable it is). In it, it states that smoking makes one more susceptible to infection, and that could lead to endocarditis, which could in turn hurt the valve. I'm sure there are other things that could...

For those of you who home test, how do you handle the following? Since I got my new meter (Coagucheck Vantus), I have tested a couple of time high. Do any of you retest the following day, or do you just repeat in a week? Most of the time, the Coumadin clinic will just have me hold part of my...

@ichnur I do not have a PFO, but I have had other surgeries. I recall when I had to have my 2nd open heart and have my valve replaced, the surgeon gave me a very stern talk, as I came in with all kinds of info that I had gleaned off of the internet (this was back in 1997) and he basically told...

I have to say that I never really liked the fitness watches. I found them too distracting for my monkey brain. If I had an Apple watch or the Galaxy watch, I'm afraid it would drive me crazy with all the distractions it could cause me. Yes, I know I could turn off the text message alerts and...

I know when I had to have a tooth extracted, the dentist told me not to stop my warfarin, but to ensure I was under X for my INR (sorry, I forget what the INR number he wanted) and my cardiologist was okay with that. I also know that when I had my catheterization about 12+ years ago, I just...

Speaking of driving and chores, I recall after my surgery, due to having to cut the sternum in two to get to the heart, I was not allowed to drive, I believe for 8 weeks. I remember one time I was going nuts and decided to go for a drive someplace. I didn't get too far because as soon as I...

My cardio doc keeps encouraging me to lift light dumbells (5 - 10lbs). I have a set of the small hand ones sitting right next to my desk at home (I work from home). Unfortunately, they are in the same place as I put them over a year ago. Okay, I just moved them an inch, so I have picked them...

I remember when I told my oldest grandaughter (she is 6) that I swallowed a clock like the alligator in Peter Pan. She gave me the strangest look, and then I told her to come and listen to my chest and she had this amazed look on her face. :ROFLMAO:

I would ask your doctor. I know for me, my docs always told me no weight lifting or wrestling (I am allowed to do light resistance training, just not heavy stuff), but each of us is different. I don't think this had anything to do with my valve, but other issues (because I had a congenital...

I was looking at my calendar this morning and I completely missed that yesterday was the 47th anniversary for my first open heart surgery. I was born with a coarctation (CoART) and a bicuspid valve, and 47 years ago, when I was 8, they did the CoART repair ( end-to-end anastomosis). The one...

I know when I had my surg back in 1997, they had to put me on a morphine drip that I could control (within reason). Long story as to why I was on that, but I had a pneumothorax and they had to insert a vacuum tube to reinflate the lung. That tube would rub up against my lungs or something each...