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I think several of the medi-scientific discussions about antibiotic prophylaxis have mentioned that most people introduce more oral bacteria into their bloodstream during routine oral home care than during dentists' or hygienists' visits. It's one of the logical arguments bandied about, in the...

FWIW, I spent a week downhill skiing in Whistler less than 2 months post-AVR. I skied slowly and carefully, wearing a heart monitor, but I got out and had great fun, no harm done. The only part that turned my cardiologist's liver black was that I was on Warfarin (for 3 months post-op). I've...

In the alternative, either (a) try harder to see Dr. M sooner, or (better) get a reference straight to Dr. M's fave (or best) cardiac SURGEON. I met with mine long before I had any symptoms. . .

Bbuck just to be clear: I generally like to present the case for going in "later", but with your symptoms, you were already "later" a while ago. Now I'm with the "sooner" consensus in your case.

Ya, you last 2 read me right. Nothing flaky about starburstcoral or the post. But neither the story nor the evidence as a whole paints a straight-line picture, from cause to effect to response/solution. The pre-dosing MAY help avoid BE, and BE is so scary for us valvers, that maybe it's worth...

I just meant that the "control" group will almost surely do better than the avg. population of ACT users, who DON'T get free home testers and free Warfarin.

Thanks, Jarno. It sounds like you're doing what you can (& should) in this challenge. Me, I think I might go with the SJ for surgeon comfort. Esp. if On-X can't send a rep to your OR in Thailand.

You didn't mention (a) what kind of symptoms you're getting from that severe regurg, or (b) whether you've had the high BP for a long time, if it's being treated, or if it's responding to treatment, either with drugs or lifestyle and diet. There is a good case for going "sooner", and it's been...

Like the collected scientific evidence on this subject, the evidence in this one case is confusing and contradictory, if not mostly backwards. Starburstcoral's husband's initial BE -- the invasion of oral Strep into his bloodstream -- very likely came from the gum cut, and not from any dental...

Jarno, do you understand WHY your first valve is failing at 6 months? I don't think there are any "normal" mechanisms to develop ordinary valve deterioration that fast, no matter how young you are, so if it really needs replacement (unless you've had an outbreak of Bacterial Endocarditis), there...

And I bought a really cheap one ($20 or less), wrist model, and it seems to work well enough. It may depend on how much precision and accuracy you really need, between appointments. Me, I was using it as much for Heart Rate as for BP anyway. . . (I posted about it in detail, here somewhere.)

I was glad I brought a blindfold and earplugs. I'm not sure I actually used the earplugs (I'm a very good sleeper), but the blindfold helped a lot for sleeping in the hospital. BTW, I chose "later" rather than "sooner". My way risks more physical damage, but having pre-op symptoms meant I got...

All the best for your surgery tomorrow, dsaf! Despite the explosive and emotional issues and choices involved in this thread, I think it contains an amazing amount of "gold" and embodies a lot of what's best about this VR.org community. If the rest of the world (e.g., the US congress) could...

This reminds me of some randomized trials where the results are compromised by the fact that the chosen placebo actually has clinical benefits. In this case, thWarfarin/Coumadine Plavix is apparently being compared to Warfarin/Coumadin with home monitoring and free Warfarin/Coumadin. But most...

I think it's almost a ritual for some surgeons to tell their HVR patients how miserable their old valve was. Mine had told me much earlier (when I was discussing timing, my lack of symptoms despite seriously deteriorating test results, etc.) about a patient who scheduled her AVR surgery right...

+1 to the gist of all these comments. I had the conventional stainless-steel wires on a full sternotomy, and I had less pain and way fewer narcotics than Larry did with the Talons -- not that a tiny "statistical sample" like ours proves anything. As long as we avoid lifting heavy things or...

EL, what's the source for your "Perimount valve (2003 data claimed around 90% odds of 20 year lifespan for 60 year old and up)"? That sounds longer than the numbers in the study that was referenced in Tyrone David's 2010 "Gold Standard" article.

For many years, I've rinced with imitation (cheap) Lysterine mouthwash before using Stim-u-dents then brushing. Not specifically thinking about BE, it just seemed to make sense, and seemed to help the toothpaste and t-brush do their jobs. It also makes sense that the Alcohol and the bitter...

Ovie, I hope you're as impressed with this bunch of responses as I am! Unfortunately, all the collective wisdom probably doesn't really give you the answer you were hoping for. Let me add a couple of different angles: 1) There's nothing wrong with factoring "likely future trajectories" into...

Matt, I don't think there's a clear and unambiguous definition of "1st-gen" and "2nd-gen", much less "3rd-gen". It's not as if all the original (tissue) valves were classmates, invented simultaneously, then they all got improved exactly 10 or 12 years later. Each maker came to market when ready...