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Thank you all again. I did obsess about it a little over the weekend and I'm still leaning towards the mechanical right now. Though I still await a 2nd and 3rd opinion and will make the final decision in a number of weeks I would imagine. Yeah that's true :) You have to laugh though.. I will...

Looking deeper into my own situation I wonder how fast the aorta would continue to grow. Impossible to tell but fun to ponder :) My root is normal and valve cusps are Right and non coronary fused. Pointing to ascending type aortopathy. Literature seems to suggest a greater influence from blood...

Hi, Thank you all for your responses. It helps a lot. He provided graphs from several papers displaying what I would describe as minimal improvement above long term mechanical valves. A lot of the data is similar to this Grand rounds session . I will look deeper into the data if I can fine...

Hi, I had my first consult with my surgeon recently to discuss options. He surprised me with his suggestion. I've been monitoring BAV for about 10 years now. Over those years it has been mostly insufficient but now increasingly stenotic. My ascending aorta is around 41mm depending on the day...

Big problem is that it isn't monitoring the ecg full time. Moving in the right direction though.

Latest fitbit looks like it provides basic 2 lead ECG with AFIB monitoring. Similar to the 2 finger desktop device mentioned above. Most expensive fitbit but its measuring a lot. Also monitors night time breathing apparently...

Hi, great that you are through this one and recovering well. Appreciate the detail in the write up. Impressive scar :) Glad the ticking is a non issue for you, hopefully with time the volume goes down a little. Best of luck with the rest of your recovery (y)

Hi, In the early years of monitoring my valve it might be heard might not. My cardio pointed to the dynamic nature of the circulatory system to explain this. Stress, tiredness, fitness, medication etc. These days it can be heard every time when examined. I notice it tends to be louder myself at...

Hi Adam, This is the perfect place to answer many of your questions. Start listing your questions for the surgeon now as they come to mind. Sometimes I'd think of a good one then it would slip my mind. Needless to say, I have a few after several years in the virtual waiting room. My own...

Hi Pekster Thanks for the details and the sequence of events so far. You are right LHCH is supposed to be excellent. My experience there so far has been very good. Hopefully it continues :) Interesting that you have seen more than one surgeon. They will all be there on the day? I'll be...

Best of luck with the surgery. I'm sure I will be in a similar situation soon enough. Have a surgical referral but yet to meet up. Had some calls about getting dental up to date.. Maybe it'll be months. My ascending aorta and arch is slightly dilated (4.0) so I suspect some graft work. Not...

Interestingly, In the years leading up my BAV diagnosis I would lose vision in my left eye, top section only. This happened quite regularly and usually in the morning so I put it down to hunger. Once I started taking aspirin and BP meds (Telmisartan) they vanished.

I would be inclined to agree. In a few more months it'll no doubt be busier and in the absence of a vaccine the risk will probably be higher. An interesting little addition to things. I think I may have read the "Plain old" part in another thread. Just the valve and hopefully nothing extra...

Hi, A short update, not much has changed, still in the holding pattern. Echo last year showed the usual BAV results i have been seeing for the last few years. Pressure gradient had definitely increased (65mmHg peak) so signs things are going down hill slowly or maybe quickly :). TOE performed...

Glad to hear your valve is serving you well. I'm 42 and have been reading AC forums here and elsewhere for the last ten years. Right now it is mechanical , 100% I'm still waiting but getting closer to the op, maybe polymer valves will become the preference in the coming years. I wonder if...

That's interesting. I knew the mechanical could impact blood quality but was not aware to this extent. have not heard too many people mention the iron supplement on here. Is this quite common among mech valve recipients ?

Absolutely agree Tom, there shall be no gambling at all. As soon as the numbers point towards surgery then it'll happen. Today has been a superb day for mind games by the way :) All the best

Absolutely. If the decline is slow then it can be a bit of a mind game. The body can compensate quite well for quite a while. Personally I think it is catching up on me now. I think it is also difficult for people who feel absolutely fine before they go for surgery. Just counter intuitive The...

Hi, My last echo report shows mean pressure of 38mmHg. Peak was 65 and max average 58mmHg. Recent TOE gave me a free upgrade to severe regurgitation. Ventricle size and function is still normal(ish) I remain active but I'm sure performance is on the decline. Instead of continuous running I...

Best of luck on the 4th (y)