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I read the numbers in the first post to mean that BW's readings in 2009 were: aortic root =3.27, gradient across the (Aortic) valve = 70, a mean of 40-45(?) and some thickening of the mitral valve. Noted as severe aortic stenosis, and mild mitral stenosis. And that BW's recent readings are...

Keeping INR within a 0.5 spread (like 1.5-2.0) is naturally much trickier than keeping it within a 1.0 spread (like 2.0-3.0). Naturally. The online calculator I've seen only deals in the bigger targets.

I didn't catch how old, Tovah, just 20 yrs older than you. Certainly as people age, and especially if they're not well or strong and fit, they can more easily lose cogency when physically stressed. My Dad made it to 98, generally amazingly sharp until the end, but he had 4 or 5 episodes of...

Blood still clots under ACT, it just does so more slowly (and "reluctantly"). Otherwise every cut would bleed forever.

Bd, I agree completely! Getting your ACT/INR right is important, but getting a good PCP, and a good relationship with your PCP, is probably way MORE important. Once you've got that, sharing the INR readings should be a Good Thing. (And if push really comes to shove, the PCP isn't in your house...

Selma, most of us did have a few other tubes elsewhere, including one in the neck, which leaves a small wound for a little while. I haven't stared at my neck since my discharge to see if it left a mark. And ditto a few tubes in the arm and wrist. Believe it or not, one of my fondest, cheeriest...

+1 to all the above! I've never been a gym rat, but I've been a volleyball and bicycling and skiing . . . "rat" for a long time. That made me unusual in my Cardio Rehab group, but the staff accommodated me remarkably well. After I changed days (and "classes", to fit my schedule better), I ended...

I really didn't want to lose any memory or clarity from my OHS, and discussed that possibility with my anaesthesiologists pre-op. The first one told me that the main amnesia culprit was the anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines), and he agreed not to give me any, just to make sure. Just before I...

Bdryer, what's so bad about sharing your INR readings with your PCP, while continuing to manage your own dosage using the calculator? When I was on ACT, my PCP phoned me with my INR results (from the lab) and then we discussed and "negotiated" how I would change my dosage, when I was out of...

Jkm's suggestion for a reference to a rehab hospital after discharge sounds good to me, Ovie. Several of my cardiac-ward "classmates" went that way, when I headed home. (If my DW had her way, I would have gone with them, but that's another story! :-) ) Maybe check your insurance, but if the...

1. Normofthenorth 2. 65 at BAVR 3. Hancock II porcine tissue valve.

Gym guy, I ruptured my second Achilles tendon about a year before my BAV replacement, so I've experienced a bunch of muscle atrophy (esp. the calf muscles) as well as some hypertrophy (LV). The stories I've heard about LV hypertrophy, and the concerns I've heard from my cardiologist about it...

Ovie, you should be proud of having cut down as dramatically as you have. Tobacco smoke is amazingly addictive. It took us all much longer to acknowledge that obvious fact (at least officially), than to admit that it causes cancer and other miserable health problems. I hope you can use that...

"It is too late" may be a bit too dramatic, or fatal sounding, IMHO. Usually waiting too long for a valve repair-or-replace "only" means that the heart has adapted to the bad valve so much, that some of the adaptations aren't fully reversed after the valve job. E.g., the LV gets bigger and...

For those who didn't see http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/showthread.php?39635-Rich&highlight=Rich+cancer , Rich lost his battle with pancreatic cancer on Feb. 4. RIP, Rich.

Like Lynn, the one claim I'd NEVER heard for the On-X valve before -- from On-X or anybody else -- is that it's the quietest mechanical valve. In fact, I've seen it compared to others in a few studies, and it seems not to be the quietest. In virtually all the studies, the quietest is made by...

My third Whistler (BC, Canada) ski week since AVR, and the first one that feels "back to normal". :-) Skiing ungroomed steeps-and-deeps, left the HR monitor in the condo all week. Two ski-release tumbles so far, mostly high-energy high-speed skiing on the groomed runs, and high-energy...

Vidhya, I'd start a new thread with this same text, but in Pre-Surgery or Valve Selection. The only part of your post that I can add to is Your "My husband is just 31 and I am worried if he will have to undergo another sugery after 25 years. Do you have data points supporting this?" There IS...

Bob/tobagotwo, The Hancock II article you reference is from 2006, 4 years before the 2010 "Gold Standard" article by David et al that I've got on a hotkey: It's entitled "Hancock II Bioprosthesis for Aortic Valve Replacement: The Gold Standard of Bioprosthetic Valves Durability?" by Tirone E...

That does sound quite fast, but I'd get it checked out, also fast. Whether or not it's your BAV, it sounds like it's worth checking out right away. Also, given your history, you're probably one of the BAVers with the more generalized connective tissue disorder, which may be causing another...