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Great article! This explains why they want to do surgery earlier than would seem necessary from some of the guidelines. My aortic valve is right at 1cm, but the ascending aorta is at 5cm. Some guidelines say surgery at 5.5 cm, others at 5. I'm already scheduled for surgery on July 6, and...

Scott, nothing is worse than constant pain. The docs ought to be able to help you deal with it! Know that God has a plan. For some reason, your pain is part of the plan. It isn't because God is mad at you, it is because he has something big in store for you! Maybe it is just to help one...

Swati, God bless you! You're out of surgery by now and a good 5 weeks ahead of me! Take care and I'll say a short prayer for you tonight. By the way, when you read this, you'll be feeling a lot better ! John

Good questions! Checking your coronary arteries seems to be SOP when they are getting ready to do valve replacement. The bypass surgery is pretty routine stuff, apparently, when they have your chest open anyway. I'm having valve replacement surgery in about a month. They want me to have a...

Maybe you're just in good health and lucky. Most of us have spikes in BP when we go to the doctor!

Congrats! Every time I read a great post like yours, I am less apprehensive. Thanks so much for sharing and letting those of us in the "waiting room" know it isn't so bad. Good luck on a speedy recovery! John

I'm getting a pig valve, but from everything I've read here and elsewhere, I thought they put you on coumadin for about 3 months. Maybe you only have to be on blood thinner for that first week in the hospital. That lady I talked to isn't a doc, but she sure seems to know everything they do...

They plan on putting a "3d Generation" treated porcine valve and dacron tube in me.

Cool chart! The surgeon at Shands sent me the same chart, but without the other info. I think normal is around 3 cm, but I'm not sure. And I don't know how body size affects that. Someone here will know!

Quit scaring me, man! I'm mentally ok with July 6-I get 6 more good Saturday rides! Plus, my wife and I need to go to North Carolina to look at some property we have there--that will eat up one of the weekends and 2 or 3 days either side of the weekend. I don't really want to go earlier, so...

The surgeon's office called about a pre-surgery cath. They want me to do it locally, as they are about 4 hours away and don't want to do it the day before the surgery. I asked them some other questions different people suggested, and then came up with my own stupid question. I wanted to know...

This is the weekend after July 4, not the weekend of July. July 4 is a Wednesday, surgery is scheduled for the following Friday. The surgeon's office called about something else and assured me he would be there all weekend and the next week. Unless I want to wait until the summer is over, I'm...

I usually sleep well, although no one sleeps great in hospitals. Eddie, I've been riding at an average HR of under 110. My heart has always been really slow, and the rythmol I take for afib is a mild beta blocker. So long as I stay hydrated and don't push it up in the 140's, they seem to...

Eddie, I'll check. But since July 9 was a date they first suggested, I'm fairly sure he'll be there. I think the scheduling person's point was that if you have to be in any hospital over a weekend, she believes the ICU is better for the weekend because it is always 100% staffed while the...

I'm still jealous of Eddie! One of the issues that non-symptomatic people face is accepting it. Another issue that I think people like Eddie or myself face is that we are exercise junkies. If we can't work out, we have trouble sleeping because we so used to the activity level. The day I was...

Thanks for the great support! Monday and Tuesday, I had that peace you guys talk about. Today, I'm tired from not sleeping good and moderately grumpy. Tomorrow will be an up day! Eddie, hows your bike looking? Lonely? It won't be long. John

My guess is that its normal to have some bouts of depression over all this. The last couple of weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for me and my wife. I've known for several years that eventually I would need surgery, but eventually isn't as scary as July 6. It is difficult to focus...

Can you get DVT when on coumdadin?

He says he is there all the time, and frankly, I don't really care who opens and closes, so long as they are really careful and well supervised. A fellow might be more careful than a more experienced guy on something like that. I fear not , especially after reading Eddie's post sugery post!

Fast Eddie is back! Let me know when you're up for a good 20 or 30 miler. No, actually, I'll let you know since my surgery date is 2 months behind you. Eddie, thanks for sharing your experience. I'm 57 and probably in similar shape, so I'm hoping I get as lucky as you post surgery. I don't...