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The number of years running isn't the problem. It's more likely just the onset of arthritis in the knees. That's age related and not magnified by your activities all those years. I'm at more than 40 yrs running and have no joint issues yet, however the number of people my age who have had to...

I was 43 at the time too. Prior to AVR I was running 5K in 21 minutes, afterward I never did any better than 27-28 min. Prior, a mile in 6 min., after, 8 min. Sometimes that's just the way it is.

Spread the word. It's that time of year again. You don't have to have a Medtronic device to qualify. Read the details and apply here: http://www.medtronic.com/globalheroes/

I used to run 6 minute miles before AVR, but I was 43 when I had it done, so age plus beta blockers prevented me from ever getting back there. I did run a mile around 7 minutes the next couple years though. I did not shy away from high intensity intervals through. Nobody ever told me to "take it...

Make it an annual tradition. For decades I could not get away on T-day morning, but when my kids all grew up I found I could sneak out for a couple hours, so I started doing a local turkey trot. This Thurs. will be my 10th in a row..

I guess no one here is into yoga. I have never done it, but what I see in those pictures looks fairly tame compared to what most people here have done post-op.

If you had muscle damage, the capillaries burst and bled into the surrounding tissue, which is bruising. The damaged tissue bleeds longer because of coumadin and the bruise gets bigger and uglier. The deed is done. Stopping the coumadin after the fact won't fix anything. That's closing the barn...

In all probability, the aching knee has nothing to do with coumadin. Coumadin is insurance against blood clots. You can stop taking it any time and for as long as you please if you want to risk a clot forming around the artificial valve and causing a stroke, which is not a small gamble. Now talk...

I never had Afib. I have a problem with caffeine and other stimulants. It's almost like an allergy which gives me premature contractions. If I could only stay completely away from coffee, tea, etc. they would be rare, but alas, I love the stuff. I was told as far back as 1980 not to worry about...

The problem with irregular pulse and HRMs is that they aren't designed to capture separate beats. They average the time span between beats over a couple seconds which at high pulse rates can be several beats. I have a pulse meter on my dreadmill and what happens is that the reading jumps all...

Having a rather hairy chest, my scar was never clearly visible, but it did fade over time too. I'm on a forced break from swimming just after working up to 1 mile. The town outdoor pool closed Aug 22 and the indoor sessions don't start until Sep 9. I feel like I'll have to start all over. I...

And I'll bet we have valve serial numbers very close to one another. I too have a St Jude's and I have kept the ID card all these years. Model 31A-101 serial no. 310676.

Hey, just one month behind me! Mine was July 26, '91. But here's something else. It was about a month before our 22 wedding anniversary. We just celebrated our 45th, so we've been together longer since AVR than we were before.

Yeah,. how about this one? I tore a calf muscle in 2008 running track and it bled internally for quite a while, thanks to Coumadin. After a few days it was all discolored and swollen to about twice the size. It was several weeks before I could run on it again...

Yeah, same story. Rheumatic fever, damaged valve, etc. I had it replaced at 43, that's 23 years ago now. I ran about 1000 miles a years before AVR and would run maybe 10-12 races a year. I've continued at the same level since. I work out easy most of the time, always have, but when I go hard, I...

Take the long view. 22.5 of those 23 years have been fun. The first 6 mos of recovery were difficult, but now it's faded into the long dim past. In retrospect, I lost more time from athletics to foot and ankle injuries over the years. Last weekend a couple friends were over and the 11 year old...

I could never use one. 1) chest too hairy to make a good contact 2) pulse too irregular at times. But then, I was running for decades before HRMs were invented and I just know what feels right.

I've got a long way to go to catch pioneers like ****, but I'm game.

July 26, 1991. St Jude's Mechanical aortic valve at Albany Medical Ctr. That's about 1/3 of my life now. We celebrated with wild black raspberry pie and ice cream. Didn't get out to run today because the grandson is staying over for the weekend, but I ran 8 miles yesterday and have been swimming...

And here's a tip which took me many years to figure out. You are NOT a cardiac cripple. You've been fixed and you can come back better than ever.