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Whether to replace the ascending aorta is is an important decision. I hope that your appointment with the surgeon goes well. Once the decision was made for my surgery, I found the normal greeting question became vexed, "How are you?" "Fine thank you" What a lie. I had a severely malfunctioning...

What was striking for me was how much more quickly that I recovered from exercise. After pushing cardio at the gym I found that I gained my breath back more quickly and was ready to go again in a couple minutes rather than feeling wasted for several minutes.

It sounds like you (sensibly) have been doing a lot of reading. Your plan sounds quite reasonable. Your numbers sound like you are in the moderate range, not wandering into the severe range yet. With a bit of luck, you may have a few years before anything has to be done.

It certainly sounds like it’s time. Have an uneventful recovery. The decreased exercise tolerance happens insidiously. Once you are on the road to recovery, it may be easier to see how much your valve has been affecting you. Best wishes. When you are ready, let us know how you are going.

The pen style does involve more steps with a risk of giving yourself a second *** when removing the sharp. It requires a proper release mechanism for the sharp. It would be nice if they included some software to allow people who self manage to easily extract their data. A simple csv (text) file...

I have had a quick play. The USB cable can be used for firmware updates with a PC. I tried transferring data via the USB cable but it appears that special software is required. I presume that Bluetooth transfer would also require the correct software. All I could find with Google was: "For more...

The INRange comes with a micro USB cable. Wifi/Bluetooth would be the next step so it could connect to a phone app.

Yesterday my new CoaguChek INRange arrived so I would like to share my first impressions of this machine. Over the last couple months (since my surgery) I have been using a CoaguChek XS machine. The CoaguChek INRange is the newer version from Roche. Here are my initial observations/impressions...

I agree that 49-55 is nothing to worry about. I would worry if it falls below 40 and you have symptoms (dizziness, faints). Anyone who is very fit will have a resting heart rate in the 40s.

Hi Stowegirl, A valve area less than 1.0 cm2 is considered severe. Valve areas are the easiest echocardiogram measure to understand but not necessarily the most accurate. Valve areas are not directly measured, instead they are calculated from other measurements. It involves squaring so any any...

Inpatient rehabilitation makes sense for people who would struggle to look after themselves at home. Clearly this doesn't apply to you. They can't keep you in against your will. Good luck sorting out a plan that makes sense for you. I was 45 and went home on day 6.

Hope the AF has finished for good. Disconcerting experience but you are still on track to have an excellent long term outcome. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I think your cardiologist’s and surgeon’s reason for a tissue valve makes sense. If you had a nasty fall, the increased bleeding around a broken bone or internally (abdominal or intracranial) could make the difference whether you can get yourself out. This is a strong reason to tell yourself in...

Hi John, hope all the atrial fibrillation settles soon (it should).

I hope this is of some help to you. I felt that the process of having an OHS was like a train. You can't micro control it, you have to go with the flow. Before you know it, it will be done. The unpleasant stuff passes quickly. I started having periods of feeling 'normal' after 3-4 days. After...

For the On-X valve, a study (Chambers 2013 Clinical event rates with the On-X bileaflet mechanical heart valve: a multicenter experience with follow-up to 12 years) showed that for 214 patients who received an aortic valve replacement, 3 patients required reoperation (1.4%). There are similar...

Hi RJMello85, Best wishes for your preparations. Having been through surgery recently (3 weeks ago) I'll mention a couple of my observations. They had me walking around the ward the day after surgery. The key is to use your abdominal muscles (core) to get up. Tensing your abdominal muscles...

I agree with epstns. The high risk of the patients with moderate AS is a reflection that a high proportion do progress to severe AS over a few years. The study did not actually look at their risk while “moderate”. The study looked at their starting severity and then plotted their outcome after...

Thank you everyone for your support. I did manage to get useful sleep last night and feel better.

Today I went home. I find it touching watching the kids very gently approach me and hug me. I am continuing to track along according to the ‘plan’. I am tired but able to gently do a few things around the house. Sleeping is uncomfortable. I find not sleeping on my side challenging. How much...