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Attached please find the leading COVID19 comorbidities in New York State deaths as of April 24, 2020.

Good discussion! I am also in the waiting room. I have a BAV with moderate to severe stenosis. My gradients have increased over the years and 5 months ago the peak was 38 and mean 23. My valve opening was 1.0-1.1 cm^2 and my peak velocity was 3.2. I am generally asymptomatic but I feel short of...

TAVR has been approved for low risk patients in US. But for patients with bicuspid vavles, the age limit is 60. Under 60, insurnace does not cover the procedure. At least this is what my doctor told me.

Hi Kim, Sorry for the late reply. I received your email. Thanks for the information! Best regards, John

Hi @Ladybug and @rich01: good luck to your procedures! I am also very interested in getting a TAVR. But I am not qualified yet because of age limit. @Ladybug: Evolut-R has better hemodynamics, i.e. low gradients and large valve open area.

Thanks a lot! I have a g--mail account. The handle is "hx201801". I hope you could compose it. John

I could not find any hard number but my cardiologist told me half-life of CT radiation is very long. Meaning the radiation stays within the body for a long time. If the purpose of CT scan is to track the progression of aneurysm, I would do MRA. The difference of insurance cost is only...

Thanks for the information! I will follow up your lead. Do you know any drawbacks of minimal invasive AVR? Is minimal invasive (or robotic assisted) CABG more complicated than minimal invasive AVR? The reason I asked is because 2 years ago one surgeon told me he would not do minimal invasive...

Hi, Thank you for mentioning minimal invasive surgery. I am also very interested in it but I haven't found a lot of information. Do you mind sharing your surgeon's name? Any known cons of a minimal invasive AVR? John

My intention is to have at most one OHS in my life. A mechanical valve is a potential solution but it's not definite as if it fails, another OHS is needed to replace it. On the other hand, a bioprosthetic valve allows me to take advantages of technology advancement in the field.

TAVR is always a temporary solution. One can do a TAVR over a native valve or a Biological one. I am in mid 50, ideally, TAVR+SAVR(surgical AVR)+TAVR could cover my remaining lifespan. One question I have for TAVR though is whether it will complicate SAVR? Does anyone have such information...

Hi Tom, Do they allow you to choose surgeons at Cleveland or they randomly assign one to patients? I wish you have a quick recovery! John

Another thought. If you are candidate for TAVR, e.g., not BAV, get a TAVR now to see how a tissue valve works in your body without the pains of OHS.

I was faced with the same question before. But i am 24 years older than you so the decision will be less harder for me. Tissue values get calcified faster in younger patients than older patients. So you want to make sure your are not prone to calcification. If your native valve is deposited...

Hi 2Leafer, Thank you for letting us know Inspiris Resilia is now clinically available in US, or at least at Cleveland. Congratulations on your quick recovery from the OHS! Any explanations why your first valve has perforations? This does not seem a common issue. John

Hi Steve, As you hinted, I worry about x-ray exposure. Even it's minimal, I assume it's harmful. I do cleaning twice a year, but I always resist x-ray as much as possible. I allow them to take a few of the trouble spots but not full set. I will not ask for a clearance letter because I will not...

Hi Noc, Finally I got my lp(a) number. At my first lp(a) test, doctor ordered lp(farc). I went back to his office and took a second blood draw. I even told the lab the insurance code for the test as it's not in their system. Several weeks have passed and they never got back me with the results...

Caroline, Heather and Zach, thanks for the replies and good wishes! I wish you all the best too. I will have an appointment with a dentist tomorrow, I will not ask her to write a clearance letter but just state the fact of my teeth. Phrases like "no active infection" or "minor infection" will be...

Thanks everyone for the reply! I guess the conclusion from the discussion is - Dental procedures could cause damage to the heart. Heart surgery in the presence of infection, though not ideal, presents no greater risk of endocarditis than not doing the surgery. Not sure I am able to convince...

I am consulting a specialist for minimally invasive coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) procedure. The nurse asked me to get a clearance letter from a dentist stating my mouth is free of infection. Is this a common requirement? I have seen other surgeons including one is ready to replace my aortic...