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Mitral clips (I have two) are generally used for leaking mitral valves. The leaflets are clipped together to tighten the valve. Valves that are tight already are not candidates for clipping. I had significant mitral insufficiency which was basically cured with two clips placed 7 1/2 yrs ago.

Back in 1977 when I was 29 and very active and before home INR testing I had my aortic valve replaced by a pig derived valve. This was done at one of the major cardiac surgery centers at that time. I had severe stenosis. The surgery was uneventful other than having to be taken back to the OR...

Testimonials are interesting but fairly worthless when it comes to decision making in medicine. We have to fall back on studies and statistics. So yes a tissue valve may last 20 years but it also could last 5. I think an interesting thing is going on in some people’s heads when they consider...

Not sure what a Complex Partial Seizure is or how it presents. Also not sure how they made the diagnosis. If one has a TIA from a wayward blood clot there will be no evidence other than having a heart valve in place when tested later. To have bilateral complete loss of vision however could...

Things get repeated so they become true. On-X presented data to the FDA with a weird concocted statistic that added "bleeding episodes" to ischemic episodes. By doing this they showed that a low INR seemed OK. If you look at the data you can see that indeed there are fewer bleeding events but...

Yes, closure means probably reduced or no flow for a period of time. If the clot breaks up and the flow is restored early enough the neurological damage may be reversed. In the eye we can see the embolus in the retinal circulation. We can also see the degree of closure which is not always...

Over the years I have had several episodes of transient loss of partial vision in one eye that lasted a few minutes. Usually one loses either inferior or superior visual field. Very few if any thing causes this other than a temporary closure of a branch retinal artery. If the main trunk of the...

There are multiple ways of dealing with mitral insufficiency. As mentioned repair, replacement and mitral clip. The details of the type of valve defect may determine what is the appropriate procedure. By far the mitral clip is the easiest to go through. Ask if you are a possible clip...

Not really.

There is no recognized problem with a steroid injection and your valve or Afib or just about anything else related to your heart. Very small chance of infection which can lead to endocarditis. Very low risk. The real question is how well will the injection work and will it buy you any...

Turbulence around a heart valve is predominantly from issues with the valve. Having a jet effect from a narrowed valve or turbulence from a mal formed valve are the likely leading associations. Irregular heart beat is NOT likely an issue.

Supposedly increased turbulence may be a risk factor in getting valvular infection. But plenty of probably normal valves get infected as witnessed by the considerable numbers of IV drug users who get endocarditis. Irregular heartbeat has as far as I am aware had any correlation with infection.

Staph epidermitis by it's name lives on the skin and is found widely. It is a normal skin flora. When it gets in places it doesn't belong like a knee joint after a steroid (or any other injection) it can grow and form an abscess. The abscess can seed the blood with bacteria which may adhere...

There is nothing certain in life. But the odds of you having a problem on a routine flight are very very low. If you were in a situation that an airplane flight was likely to be dangerous than you should have had surgery already.

Competition is always a good thing. With the advent of the novel anticoagulants the number of people on warfarin has dropped. Hopefully there will be enough still using warfarin for the medical industry to maintain the devices we have. If the numbers don't add up they might stop maintaining...

Traditionally the decision to proceed with surgery for a stenotic aortic valve was when the extra work placed on the left ventricle caused changes in the ventricular thickness or sometimes other parameters such as a change in the electrocardiogram. It was felt that prior to these changes much...

Your assumption is that you had an embolism associated with your mechanical valve. Given your story this is most likely. But you may have just occluded a vessel by clotting or from some other mechanism. Other options beside increasing what already is an adequate INR would be adding a platelet...

The low 30's rates when sleeping may suggest that a pacer is in your relatively near future. Clearly you are only getting a percentage of your atrial beats through to your ventricles. Likely 2nd degree heart block. So if you are feeling punky or have any sort of fainting don't wait too long...

I have had three open-hearts for bicuspid aortic valve stenosis with the 3rd an aortic aneurysm. I started to get intermittent A. Fib about 30 yrs after my initial valve surgery. It was slightly bothersome but short episodes. I was already on warfarin so I was covered for embolization from...

If I was facing my first aortic surgery at 65 I would probably go with a tissue valve with the idea that TAVR was also an option later. Maybe even if this was a redo I might also consider tissue. But in my case due to AFIB I need anticoagulants anyway. So a mechanical might make more sense...