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Its great to hear you are in Cardiac Rehab. Here in the US, over 75% of people do not go to Rehab after their valve replacement. Considering how good my own experience was, I just can't imagine why so many people deny themselves this very helpful tool. By the way, you can listen to your heart...

Happy to hear you are in recovery, Deb. It does take some time to get past the immediate effects of surgery but soon you will be feeling more normal. The sleep problems, I think, plague most of us; have you been walking much? I found that going for walks even for short distances really seemed...

Jane, so nice to see your post. I am six months behind you and I feel very much the same way. Its a message new members need to hear as they are caught up in preparation and recovery, that is to say, that life can return to normal. I hope your next 5 years are better yet. Larry

Hi, Phil, I had a lump lower down that remained red longer than the rest of the scar. At one year, it is was still very noticeable to me but with time the lump sort of melted and the color faded. I think, mostly, that it just takes time. Three years after surgery, I had no lump and my scar...

Leah, the one thing of which you can be certain is that your recovery will not be identical to anyone else's and will probably be far better than you expect. In the weeks before my valve replacement, I had terrible episodes of palpitations which left me exhausted. I worried most that in the...

I agree with the others that it is helpful to keep copies of the results of your echos. However, unless there is a serious problem that is clearly indicated, these results are only helpful over time since they will give you an idea of how rapidly your heart is changing. For most people with...

Thanks for your post. It is reassuring to the rest of us to see you and Dick write. We get so focused on surgery during the months before and after replacement that it doesn't seem we might ever live without its shadow coloring our lives. I can say I didn't imagine four years on that I could...

Leah, I saw your note and thought I might add my own take. First, you cannot get much better advise than Lyn after all she has learned with Justin. By now you know that some of your questions cannot really be answered because every surgery is contingent upon the surgeon's experience with the...

Hi, Fern, by now you know that we have all shared your misgivings. I can tell you that not one of the things I worried about before the AVR ever happened and I had a pretty long list. Instead, by the time I awoke with a clear head, I felt better than I had in a long time and things got better...

Hi, Keith, I shared some of your same concerns with respect to pollen allergies. At the time my AVR was scheduled, however, I was feel very ill and my surgeon said we could not wait. As it turned out, in the two years after the valve replacement, my pollen allergies all but disappeared. I...

I was fortunate to have a friend who at the time was a nurse on a cardiac surgery team. Her advice was to increase one's protein intake in the month before surgery to promote more rapid healing. After the valve replacement, my family doctor's advice was to continue with the increased protein...

I think this is one of the many little "undocumented features" associated with these kinds of heart problems. In the two years before my AVR, I experienced those sudden indrawn breaths with ever increasing frequency. Neither my cardiologist or my surgeon were particularly interested in them...

Reading your post, I found myself thinking that my experience was very similar. At our first consult, my new doctor asked "Has anyone ever told you that you have a heart murmur?"...you kinow the rest. It took mine longer to degrade so I was 59 at the time my valve was replaced. Test results...

Hi, Phil, I think you are not alone in find that your body is dealing with heat stress better. This has been my experience also and here in Oklahoma it gets as hot as your part of Australia. It is nice to see your post because those who are approaching valve replacement need to know that they...

Take a deep breath Take a deep breath Hi, I've been away from this forum for a couple of years but not so long that I've forgotten the anxiety that can be arroused by this subject. We all share these anxieties to some extent but you can choose to be thoughtful or distressed. Consider that...

Dick, when I joined VR four years ago as things ramped up to surgery, reading your posts relieved a lot of anxiety and gave me a lot of reassurance that things were going to be ok. Thank you for continue to share your experiences with us. Larry

Congratulations on your first year! Right after surgery, I thought I would never again go a day without thinking about it yet its surprising that it becomes just another piece of the past. I think that this is the message people new to VR should hear first. Moo! Larry

Welcome to our community here in VR. If your valve area is 0.7 cm2, as was mine three years ago, then you need a new valve. As for selecting the type of valve, my advice, for what its worth, is to select the valve that you believe you will be most comfortable living with. As you have now...

Speaking from my own experience, 20 kg is not a signifigant figure unless you have other health issues. After the sternum is healed one should be able to begin building back strength to a normal level of exercise. I had no weight restrictions imposed after three months. Larry

My experience is somewhat similar to your's. I'm 62 now and my valve was replaced 3 years ago. Although I was never in combat, my time in the Navy probably overlapped your own. That said, it is a shock at any age to learn that there is a degenerative problem in one's heart. You should be...