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Yes, around 67 avg age when they got the HVR, and avg ~79+ when the last followup "snapshot" was taken. Those are mean numbers, and about half were older, including much older. So we'd expect many of them to have died, even w/o the HVR. Meanwhile, it's still the case that we're all writing the...

I was on ACT through my first 3 months, which were Winter in Toronto. We keep it quite cool in the house, and I noticed no changes then, or since I came off the Warfarin. As others have said, it is a major shock to the system, so some people experience all kinds of changes afterwards, either...

I don't think heart attack (MI) risk is significantly elevated, esp. if (like most of us BAVers) you have clean coronary arteries. Stroke risk is definitely elevated by A-Fib (a common complication) and by ACT (e.g.,Warfarin). The simple fact of major surgery, and disruptions to big blood...

This thread may be "selecting" for people who did suffer. I was cracked open with a full sternotomy and did not suffer neck or shoulder or back pain. And I'm somewhat prone to all three, without surgery, so it's definitely not a sure thing. One thing maybe worth mentioning: shifting around in...

Thanks for the thanks, both of you. Of all the way I've ever helped anybody, posting little updates on my recovery is probably the easiest!:D I was "trained" at AchillesBlog.com for the year before my AVR. (I'm normofthenorth there, too.) On that site, most people have their own little blogs...

Like some others, I was much more concerned about rolling over in bed and sneezing than lifting, though I did take it somewhat easy for the first ~6 weeks -- and I HAD practiced getting out of bed and chairs hands-free, pre-op! (Straightening out a tangled nightshirt while you're lying on it...

I was a frequent bicyclist (just getting around town) until the day before my OHS, and I returned to it fairly soon post-op. I was also into ~2x/week competitive volleyball (with a bunch of young folks), beach and court, until a year pre-OHS, when I tore my (second!) Achilles Tendon playing...

Every time I went to my weekly Cardiac Rehab session, I'd walk past the Neurological Rehab building for the same organization (Toronto Rehab). I don't know how much your specific deficit can be eliminated or mitigated or accommodated by rehab, but I'd sure find out.

I've told my Warfarin-and-skiing story here before. While I was on ACT, ~2 months post-AVR (etc.), I went to one of our (2) Whistler timeshare weeks. I asked my Cardiologist, my GP, and my heart surgeon for their opinions (though I was pretty determined to go anyway, and most or all of them knew...

Ya, strength to all of you!

I actually missed my last Cardio Rehab class!:( My wife needed the car, and it was lousy bicycling weather, so I just skipped it, and now it's over, except for the annual(?) checkups and such. I played 2.5 hours of "hard" beach volleyball last night, including two 2-on-2 games (won 1, lost 1)...

Good luck, keep us posted, and ditto to what everybody else has said.

With any serious condition that is always treated whenever it's diagnosed, it's tough to gather evidence on the prognosis without treatment. We assume it's awful, but it may be OK, at least for exceptional "outliers". And we'll never do a study to find out, either. When a population of mech...

Ya I feel your pain. I skied a week in Whistler about 7 weeks post-AVR, while still on warfarin (& metoprolol). My Cardio said I was crazy (because of the Warfarin). My GP said to take it easy, and my surgeon said "No problem, have fun!" I bought a helmet and padded my chest and wore a HR...

FWIW, my understanding of cavitation -- though I know more about boat propellors than mechanical heart valves! -- is that it's caused when mechanical forces "part" a liquid, essentially tearing it apart, so that gaps are left. I don't think those gaps are usually filled with air, unless this all...

I think BE is known for being hard to diagnose definitively without the "smoking gun" of a blood culture, but extreme temperature spikes, with extreme sweats and shivering chills, are very frequent symptoms, so I think it's possible. As Lyn said, your surgeon could probably tell you whether or...

What's "fast"? I think my Cardio once told me that he doesn't worry about anything below ~120 bpm. (I was concerned because my resting HR, sitting at a computer for hours, would sometimes go up to 100-ish for no reason, a few months post-AVR.)

I consulted Adam's site fairly extensively pre-op, and almost bought his book. The site was helpful -- though nothing like THIS place! :-)

Has ottawagal become ottagal, or are there two posters using similar IDs??

Nicely said, Bob. I'm 5 days behind you, and generally. . . +1!