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Thanks for your best wishes. I’m now day 4. First couple days weren’t much fun with pain and nausea but are a lot better now. Walking around the ward. As soon they take off the cardiac monitor that limits me to the ward, I’ll be down to the cafe. Hopefully will go home either tomorrow or the day...

I'm in hospital for the workup for my AVR tomorrow. I'm 45 so I'm going mechanical. The surgeon recommends a Medtronic open pivot valve (previously called ATS). He says that it is the quietest and my search of the literature seems to confirm this. Really, I see very little difference between the...

I can see a possible link between gut and dental. They are both about bacteria.

This is a very interesting idea that makes sense. In your research of the topic, what can we do about it? I'm guessing that you are going to say diet. We know that diet affects heart risk. Perhaps it is more than just cholesterol and sugar.

Hi cherbam, I’m not sure what you mean by “fluttering” but it sounds like something To check out with your doctor. They could consider things like an ECG, Holter monitor and an echo. I hope it is all okay.

Johnmarkos, best wishes with your planning. Hopefully you will remain too busy to over think things. Since I first read your post, I have been wondering, why when you were 17, your girlfriend‘s father listened to your heart. Was this some “meet the parents” moment before the polygraph test?

The risk of requiring a pacemaker is fairly small. There are some super physically active members on this forum who have a pacemaker. Having a pacemaker doesn’t stop them and won’t stop you if you were unlucky enough to need one. (TAVI has a higher risk of pacemaker than open heart) Memory loss...

Sorry to hear about Dixie. Best wishes to you in your new home with Zoey.

Reading the article felt more "fun" than mowing the lawns! However, I did have a good morning.

I have read the journal article. It is a large, carefully conducted, Australian trial. I see no evidence of any business bias. It appears to be a genuine study conducted to increase scientific knowledge. Echo data of several sites was collected into a huge database. It is staggering in its size...

I’ll get my hands on this journal and have a careful read. It might take a couple days before I have chance (busy fun weekend planned).

Maybe a Holter monitor to record your heart rhythm for 24 hours would be a good idea. Arrhythmia (for example atrial fibrillation or SVT) becomes more common if someone is unwell from something else, like infection. A check up from your doctor sounds useful. Best wishes.

I have read quite a few of the journal articles about this topic. Sudden death from moderate aortic stenosis is very low. Really not much different to the background population. Even with severe stenosis, provided that you don’t ignore symptoms and follow the cardiologist’s orders (don’t refuse...

It is good to know that Arnie is on our side!

Sounds great

Lp(a) appears to be an important marker for valve degeneration whether it is the aortic or mitral valve and whether tricuspid or bicuspid. What is not clear to me is whether high lp(a) causes faster valve degeneration or whether the presence of a quickly degenerating valve causes a raised lp(a)...

Best wishes for your surgery and its preparations. You will go into this with good fitness which will help you afterwards. I think that it is ideal that you have no/minimal symptoms - you hopefully will avoid any permanent heart damage. Well done to you for getting a checkup and well done to...

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. It would take some strong evidence to convince me. Until there is such evidence, I think that you should combine it with wearing a tin hat, crystals over both wrists and gently humming. If it turns out that it works (and is safe) then I will...

Yes, I meant ‘shiny’. The on-label system is an important protection from drug companies pushing untested drugs on the population. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work well for older drugs. A new drug can’t be available unless approved. I think that I under sold the value of the FDA, TGA, MHRA, etc...

In order for a drug to become FDA approved (TGA approved in Australia; MHRA in the UK) for a particular medical use, it takes resources to push it through the government processes. Only pharmaceutical companies with a new ‘shinny’ drug bother. This means that an older drug may be used all over...