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Sorry to hear about the new issues. I can't advise re. pacemakers but I have some experience of being overwhelmed with work and life issues. I'm not much for prayer but I always liked this one: That and prioritizing is how I dealt with being overwhelmed. Good luck.

When I was first diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm, one of the first things I looked into was exercising with an aortic aneurysm. I started a thread and included several links on this topic here...

I looked for Dr's in the top 10% of their field using Castle Connelly: http://www.castleconnolly.com/membership/index.cfm. It costs a few dollars to join for a month which I think is well worth the cost. Then I look for the best regional hospital using US News. Here's the list w/i 500 miles of...

I used a recliner. I also found that metoprolol causes insomnia for me, if I take it too close to bed time. It is hard enough getting used to sleeping in positions you are not accustomed to after surgery, it must be much more difficult to do so while getting used to CPAP.

If you can find one step, or something similar enough to a step, then you could just step up and down at least 12 times. I think a staircase typically has at least 12 steps.

Predictions of the future are little more than guesses. The prediction that TAVR would be ready for low risk patients by now turned out to be wrong. It seems to me that for most, recovery is related to health prior to surgery. Most people are not as healthy at 60 as at 45 so it's a pretty...

Yes, it's a possibility. My understanding is that once an aneurysm reaches 47 mm, it's progression is virtually inevitable. So while it may be a few years, surgery for the aneurysm will very likely be needed. In the meantime your brother should be under the care of a good Cardiologist to...

For what it's worth, the general guidelines for aortic aneurysm call for surgery when the dimensions reach 55mm, with or without a bicuspid valve. Complicating factors may suggest earlier intervention. Re. the valve, if it is well functioning a valve sparing procedure is an option. That's...

81mg is what used to be a children's dose, before children were advised not to take aspirin. I take 1-2 ibuprofen as needed for headache. When recovering from a shoulder issue I was prescribed to take up to 4 ibuprofen at a time. I don't think the small dose of aspirin is an issue when...

It's different for everyone but I found it to be less painful than I expected. I didn't need anything more than ibuprofen by the time I went home. Some positions will be much less comfortable than others, which is why I slept in a recliner for the 1st month. Sneezing is uncomfortable. I...

I had my surgery at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. What I can tell you about my experience with Mayo is that the Dr's there schedule more time for you than most places. Bring lots of questions because the Dr is likely to take the time to answer all of them to your satisfaction. And I assume that you...

That's exactly what it's been like for me. You might get a little past 10 but not much. It's so quick and then you are waking up and it's all over with.

I read a good article once that talked about the restrictions placed on cardiac patients, including not lifting more than 10 pounds, while at the same time the door to the cardiac unit required 15 pounds of force to open, and not one patient had an issue because of the door. It is important not...

The Dr. that did my cardiac cath said it was to check my coronary arteries because if they were clogged they could do a bypass when they fixed my aneurysm. If needed, a bypass could be done when a valve is replaced, other than that I can't see why having an artificial valve would have any...

I've read that once an aneurysm reaches 4.7cm, it will continue to grow (now I can't find the link for this), so the way I looked at it, surgery was inevitable and the longer I delayed surgery, the more risk I had from a rupture or dissection and then after that I still had the risk of surgery...

Interesting topic. In my view, for the surgeon and hospital team it is absolutely another day at the office. Although my insurance paid the bills, I saw them, and the Dr. and hospital were well compensated. I did take the time to go on Healthgrades and give my surgeon a good review. For the...

Absolutely. After having my aortic aneurysm repaired I was walking the next day and walking about a mile a day (1/2 mile at a time) within a week or two. I was home on the 5th day and the only pain meds I took were Ibuprofen. My knee surgery was much more painful. For the Dr's and staff...

This is a good question and I think it definitely merits a discussion with your Dr. Myself I had an aortic aneurysm and now aortic regurgitation so I am not as familiar with aortic stenosis but I understand that severe aortic stenosis carries the risk of sudden death. I googled it to confirm...

Glad to hear that your surgery went well and so sorry that your son's issue was not diagnosed. It's a good reminder how lucky those of us are that get these issues diagnosed and fixed.

There is no inevitable progression of the disease, but you are at much higher risk for aortic stenosis (narrowing of the valve), aortic regurgitation (leaking of the valve), or thoracic aortic aneurysm. As I understand it, these issues are more likely when you are older (50-60+). While these...