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This is very interesting to me. My aneurysm was never seen on echos, a regular echo and even a TEE. It was only caught with a CT. One significant difference for my aneurysm was that it wasn't at the aortic root as most with AV issues, but rather it was way up in the proximal arch. My root...

Thanks for all of your answers. I should also add that I eventually got the chance to ask my cardiologist and he said it was certainly not a problem. The warnings really apply to people who take at least the recommended dose of NSAIDs beyond the cardio-dose on a very regular basis, like someone...

Hello VR friends, I did some searching on VR.org before I wrote this question and all I saw were answers in reference to questions about warfarin plus NSAIDs, not doubling up if you already take 81mg daily. So, obviously, I take 81mg daily, and no other thinners, for my bioprosthetic aortic...

Wow, thanks. That's great information. To be clear, however, "I cannot take in as much volume as I used to" is a reference to before surgery. I'm pretty sure I'm slowly improving from my first day post-op as a starting date. This does make me think of something, however... The NP who...

Since surgery (11/05/2013) the symptoms have improved. I'm not too worried and atelectasis was ruled some time ago with an x-ray about a week after going home. To be honest, I haven't been the most consistent with the breathing exercises (with those plastic inhale/exhale devices). At 9 weeks...

epstns, Most of what I've read has noted that historically the BP meds work best in combination. I do feel like I responded better to Losartan+Propranolol (waiting room) better than just Metoprolol (post-op). If I have to be on BP meds for the rest of my life, I'm going to ask if I can...

So I spoke with my cardiologist. For now his plan is to take me off the tartrate (short acting, 50mg b.i.d.) and onto the succinate (long acting, 100mg q.d.),. Maybe it'll even things out. He had no interest in putting me back on propranolol. Of course the day I went to see him my BP was...

Zippylin, I'm about 8 weeks out, 50mg 2x daily. I was on propranolol before surgery and it took me from 145/90 to 115/70 and HR of 72 to 62 at rest. I had low BP (90/65) and high HR (100+) after surgery. Things were looking better until I went home where my HR went to 108 at rest and the...

Just wanted to relay my experience for getting better sleep. I hope this helps someone. Being post-op was such a relief for me. I can finally fall asleep without all sorts of crap swimming through my head. In fact, I've had to go to sleep with, at first, music and then podcasts and talk...

Thank you ski girl. My surgeon seems pretty chipper about the prospects of longevity for the newer generation tissue valves. (I received a St. Jude Epic.) And yes, improved for for sure. I highly recommend OHS if you're looking to lose 10-15 lbs ;)

For those who remember my struggle with valve choice, any everything else pre-op, thank you for all your replies. In a nutshell, I had the huge aneurysm in my proximal arch repaired and aortic valve replaced by Dr. Vincent Gaudiani on 11/5/2013 at California Pacific Medical Center in San...

Pellicle, I did explain my conclusions and how I think your focus on my words misses the point, and I still feel that that is the case. Let's exchange my word "survival" for "something going wrong". Maybe that will help, maybe not. I did explain my conclusions and how I think your focus on...

Pellicle and Tom, I think you guys read me wrong. My statement was not a comment on comparing valves or anticoagulants. It is plainly obvious that currently warfarin is the only viable anticoagulation option for MHV. Etc. What I am trying to say is that the most significant and impressive...

This one: http://mayo.img.entriq.net/htm/MayoP...articleID=4071 by Dr. Hartzell V. Schaff @ Mayo. So I watched it fully. It was interesting but I wasn't overly impressed by the continuous stream of survival rate graphs where mechanical valve data was always on top. I've read a lot of studies...

Hi Annaaurora, I'm sorry if my post sounded condescending to you. I certainly did not intended it to sound that way. I'm not trying to tell Alex how to feel. He doesn't want to be anxious, or as he put it he wants to "feel normal again". I'm only giving him, and our community, my personal...

Alex, I'm glad you shared your story. I promise you, I promise you, the anxiety will pass. I'm not a fan of the idea that more information is better, but reading up is good for having an understanding of what is going on inside your body and also to realize that the medical world is...

But I will be a different man. Not only will I be some 10 years older, hopefully wiser, but less reboundable physiologically. And the real difference, with regard to this thread, is that I will have had post-op experience. Will that make me more or less regretful of such a choice? I cannot...

Thanks for the replies. I think the biggest question mark for me is that being on the pre-op side of things, I have no category for post-op recovery. When I think I can do tissue and handle second post-op from now, I wonder just how much I am fooling myself? Barring any thoughts on AVR...

Pellicle, I was writing with all these caveats and explanations with the express desire to avoid a response like the one you gave me. Perhaps concision equates with clarity. Get a mechanical valve at 44, statistically, end of story. Get a tissue valve at 44, statistically, its not the end...

... and I still haven't decided. I think I know what many will say when done reading this, as most of you out there are on the other side of this decision and have a vested interest in maintaining a positive outlook on what is and will be the AVR reality for the rest of your lives. But I...