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Up until recently all of the major variants seem to be somewhat controlled by the current mRNA vaccines. However some of the latest variants may be a different story but it probably too soon to tell. One thing that has been discussed is that there is a modest waning of the effectiveness of the...

My feeling right now is that the probability of a problem with another shot of the original vaccine is very low especially knowing that in Israel and several other countries this is already being done. So IF in the future a new variant effective vaccine is produced I would not be concerned...

I went on line made an appointment at CVS pharmacy for Pfizer. They asked if it was my first or second shot. I said I already had one but there was no question about the second. I went in and expected to be interrogated but nothing happened and I got my shot. It looks like having a...

I just got my third dose of Pfizer today. Last dose was about 7 months ago. There are still too many idiots not getting vaccinated that some vaccine is being wasted so I did not feel guilty about getting the vaccine. Thank you anti-vaxxers! Another tidbit I came across about Ivermectin...

St.Jude and aorta 15 years ago. Warfarin so far 38 years. Probably little difference between St. Jude and ON-X or other similar valves made out of carbon and are bileaflet. St. Jude has the longest track record.

https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2021/04/12/20/33/fluoroquinolones-associated-with-increased-risk-of-aortic-dissection-aneurysm The only drug class that I am aware of that may cause structural damage is fluoroquinolnes. These are also associated with tendinitis and Achilles’...

It would be very nice if there was a repurposed drug like Ivermectin or something else that truly helped COVID. I looked at the meta analysis study and the only thing that impressed me was the multiple statistical gyrations done to try to make heads or tails out of it. So maybe somewhere in...

I don’t think there have been definitive studies on the role of prophylactic antibiotics for various procedures in patients with prosthetic valves. It used to be thought it should be mandatory then some studies suggested not so. But the studies I saw were so so. Still for certain patients...

Currently there are a wide range of options for mitral regurge treatment. Valve replacement either mechanical, organic or soon mechanical but organic like. There now are options to replace valves in the mitral position via catheterization techniques. These are new in the mitral position and...

Thanks for that excellent discussion on transmissibility. Clearly explained the moving target for herd immunity. I agree there are some trolls on this site or very ignorant people. Probably a combination of both.

There are interesting things that can occur with pacemakers and 3rd degree heart block. I had a pacer placed after my aneurysm surgery when I developed complete block (3rd degree). It was a standard R ventricle lead pacer that had a max pacing rate of 150. On my bike at that time I would...

Yes I went to medical school and did an internship and residency and fellowships. And prior to med school got a masters in applied physics. Both at a very prestigious university. So I really have a tough time listening to irrational nonsense. Also as I said much of what Fauci has said has...

The right wing wingnuts don't want anything to succeed in the US while they are not in power. The anti Fauci sentiment is laughable. That goes along with not losing the presidential election to Q anon etc.. Sure, early on Fauci made some mistakes about a variety of issues but these errors...

Getting vaccinated is a no brainer. Yes the vaccines are not perfect no vaccine is. But #1 extremely rare to get severe effects from COVID after vaccination. #2 reduce the population viral load substantially and reduce new potentially more virulent variants. The first is a self preservation...

The decision to have aortic valve surgery is made for several reasons. First a high gradient second left ventricular wall thickening and symptoms. It is well known that severe AS can lead to sudden death due to ventricular arrhythmia even without overt symptoms. So reading and interpreting...

I don't think that this forum has become an echo chamber. The problem with the article is that it is crap. Crap in the sense that the data was flawed. As I mentioned I doubt the life expectancy of valve patients at 60 is 12 years. So the conclusions of the article are flawed. People are...

Unless you go to the Mengele clinic you will be sedated if you need to remain on the tube. So generally if needed the tube is tolerable. So don't worry.

Clearly if you are getting numbers like you mentioned your boyfriend’s situation is not typical. It sounds like he might have a cardiomyopathy which is a weakening and enlargement of the heart muscle. You didn’t mention what the surgery was for. You and your boyfriend need to get a bit more...

I had my third surgery about 15 years ago. It was primarily for a large 6.5 cm aneurysm. I had a mechanical St. Jude in for 23 years without any issues. But the valve and the aortic conduit come as one piece so my 23 year old St. Jude was removed for a new St. Jude and aorta. Somehow there...

First of all this was written 6 years ago. Fewer people were self testing their coagulation levels. Secondly there are some statements in this that I really don’t agree with. For example: but life-table analyses of large datasets suggest the average life-expectancy of a 60 year old after...