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This is absolutely how I felt too. Once the surgery was scheduled a lot of my fear and apprehension just washed away. I was confident in my surgeon and his team and I was right to be. For us its a huge life-changing event, for them its just another day. Absolutely this. There were nine people...

The AHA guidelines recommend surgery to replace the aortic valve for patients with symptoms and severe aortic regurgitation, and patients with severe regurgitation and an ejection fraction less than 55%. However, they also recommend surgery to replace the valve if a patient has moderate or...

Fair viewpoint. In my view, the reason for getting surgery even when you don't have obvious symptoms is because by the time symptoms do occur, there may already be irreversible damage. With chronic aortic regurgitation in particular, even when severe, you can have full exercise capability...

Welcome to the other side! You're in good hands. You got this!

This is a great way to look at things. I kept reminding myself about this before surgery. There is a very effective and safe solution for our condition. For many diseases that isn't the case at all. Yes, we trade our original problem for the problems associated with prosthetic heart valves, but...

For point number 1, I think there really hasn't been a scientific consensus on what causes these changes other than genetics. But as pellicle has pointed out before, the progression of a disease/rate of failure is not always linear. Sometimes it's fine for a long while and then suddenly starts...

100% seconding this. You should make decisions based on what options are available now, not what options may or may not be available in the future. The newest mechanical valve (On-X) is basically a slightly "improved" version of the St. Jude, which was created in 1977. The only "new technology"...

This is the best approach. There is no benefit in putting it off. In fact, I think you stand to gain quite a bit by pushing for the surgery earlier. Chronic aortic regurgitation is insidious because the heart has time to adapt to changes, which is why many people with aortic regurgitation are...

This is amazing btw. You've seen the recovery happen first hand so many times! PTs do invaluable work. It was very nice to see the physical therapist when they came by during my stay. My only complication in the hospital was some tachycardia/arrhythmias. Not the dangerous kind but the annoying...

Just wanted to chime in with this: https://www.annalsthoracicsurgery.org/article/S0003-4975(07)00667-4/fulltext The recognition that patients with a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) are at risk for aorta-related death (rupture or dissection) has favored composite aortic root replacement in BAV...

This all sounds reasonable to me. If your surgeon thinks you can get a good long while out of the native valve still, it could be worth a shot. A lot of re-ops for people who get solely valve replacements are driven by aneurysm formation/aorta dilation, so getting it done now is great. I know...

Hey! Welcome to the forum. Glad you got things checked and are having surgery in a timely manner. My situation actually had a lot in common with what you're describing. I'm 28 yrs old and had a Type 0 BAV. Moderate-severe regurgitation that crept up to severe in the past few years. 5cm dilation...

Good luck, wishing you a speedy and uneventful recovery.

Just wanted to put this here in case it's useful to anyone. There are lots of third-party retailers in Canada that sell Coagucheck supplies direct to consumers, because it's allowed there. I'm pretty sure Reliaston sources their supplies from Canada as well, since the InRange meter I got from...

This is an excellent point. I often think about the rates of thromboembolism and bleeding events quoted in studies on mech valve patients, and how many of those are probably a result of the factors you mentioned. If everyone was in range 90%+ of the time, like many people here are, I imagine...

The thing that helped me the most was reading the pre and post surgery sections of the forum, and seeing so so many people come out on the other side and recover just fine. Other than that, I think it's important to keep in mind that you have done your part (seeking out medical care, gathering...

Hi! I just had my aortic valve and root replaced with a mechanical valve + conduit a month ago. As far as lifestyle goes, we have people here who ride motorcycles, do manual labor, and lift very heavy weights at the gym and they are doing just fine. A woman climbed to the top of Mt. Everest...

Good luck Josh! Just had my mechanical bentall done a month ago. I'm sure you and your surgeons will do great and you'll be back on your feet in no time :)

I've ordered from Reliaston and can vouch that they are good, but I don't think they are covered by insurance since it's a third-party retailer and I'm pretty sure the supplies they sell come from Canada (where INR tests and machines can be sold directly to consumers).

These symptoms definitely sound unusual for the circumstances and I think it would really be worth bringing them up with the cardiologist and pulmonologist. If your heart itself is structurally and functionally sound, which it sounds like it is if they say the stress echo is normal, there's a...