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Going SAVR - so long as your body can handle it (and most do) - gives the surgeon full access to everything. It’s the tried and true way of having a new aortic valve “installed” easily and without complication. They have tons of room to work and get it right. Plus, they can see more of what’s...

Here is another thought … As you get older and the AS becomes more severe, your heart has to work harder to get the same amount of blood out of that small opening. The heart is a muscle - and since it is working harder, it’ll thicken and get bigger. That’s not a good thing. So, since you know...

Hey brotha (mech valve brotha, lol), FWIW, I didn't wait as long to get my surgery. I think my EF was 65% prior to surgery. I had an echo at 2 months after surgery and my EF was up to 75%. I'm now at 4 months and doing cardio 3x a week. My cardio fitness is still not back to where it was...

Aortic root enlargement is a common practice these days. There are multiple ways to do it. They did one on me just to stuff a 23mm On-X valve in me. Please tell me that your post title about Mech valves means that you've seen the light and you're going to get a mech valve. Because even at...

Although I am sad that some individuals were harmed 😭, I DO think it is a good idea to keep trying to move forward. The new anti-coagulation drugs really did need to be tested to see if they would work (IMHO). This is not me saying that anything is inherently wrong with Warfarin - not at all -...

I tried quite a few things and what worked the best for me was MetaMucil, twice a day … big heaping scoop each time. After two days, HUGE change.

You go Tim! Awesome to see your recovery. Keep going dude!

Good luck Kate! You got this. I'm a bit over 3 months since surgery (mech valve) and I'm back to running (a bit), lifting weights, etc. Everyone's experience is different. The first week of recover was hard. The second week got easier. At 4 weeks I was feeling confident. 5-6 weeks was a...

My BP was originally lower too (most likely due to the metoprolol [beta blocker]). It is back to normal now ... so relatively no change. That said, Cardiac Rehab was/is awesome. Guaranteed 45min of cardio every other day. They take my blood pressure afterward (after ~5min of cooldown in a...

You misunderstood what I said. Dr. Gerdisch is a fan of rigid sternal fixation. His comments are what motivated me to ask for it. My surgeon from Washington DC Hospital was the one who indicated an increase in infections. No, he did not state what was causing the infections. My guess is that...

Great story. Thanks for sharing. Totally on point with a mech valve at your age. Happy to see doctors in the UK making great recommendations. Not sure why cardiologists and surgeons here would EVER recommend at tissue valve to someone in their 30s or 40s. Doesn’t make sense (so long as...

I’m literally just a few minutes from that station.

In my opinion, those numbers are bad. Get surgery sooner rather than later. Chuck pointed out everything above so I won't repeat ... except to say that 125 is super duper high. Not saying this to scare you ... but to increase urgency in your mind. You're actually not too far from me...

I was 50 at OHS and came off Fentanyl at 2 days. Very little pain and was released at 4 days. Back to work in 2-1/2 weeks (desk job).

I have some input on this based on me asking for Rigid Sternal Fixation during my recent OHS 3 months ago. I had my surgery at Washington DC hospital, a major cardiac hospital with great success rates. My operation was performed by an aortic specialist. I specifically asked him about...

Agree completely with pellicle. The Ross creates a 2-valve issue and guarantees that you will have open heart surgery again. That said - YOU need to be happy with your choice. The last thing I want to see is for you to go mechanical and then later complain on this board due to any issues in...

Welcome aboard Leon! You've come to the right place man. You'll find a lot of old-timer mechanical valve people here (doing all sorts of crazy things). That should boost your confidence dramatically. I'm a newcomer here and this place has been amazing. What I have learned about my situation...

@sharky7 - I would suggest taking this conversation to the Off-Topic forum (Off-Topic Forum). We're specifically in this thread to assist Emmapenny. No need to discuss who agrees or doesn't agree with Caps Lock, etc.

Hi Emma and welcome! You’ve come to the right place for sure. There are many of us “mech valvers” here. Some of us relatively new (like me, a little over 3 months ago) and going all the way up to Dick who got his valve installed before I was even born … and I’m over 50! Take a breath...

FWIW, I originally purchased from EBay which worked out GREAT. The user on ebay that I purchased from is reliamax. I've ordered 3 boxes of 24 strips from them and everything has been great. I found out that they have their own internet store. I went there and was able to get it cheaper than...