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Agreed, when I had my TIA, they initially thought I had a brain bleed, so they took me off warfarin and put me on a heparin drip. When they were confident that my brain wasn't bleeding, they put me back on warfarin and released me from the hospital when my INR was back in range.

It will. Everyone's different. I started feeling normal within the last couple of months.

I had never been diagnosed with heart block before but I did have a resting heart rate of 54 prior to surgery, so I assume I had less severe heart block before. From what I understand, the AV pathway is right next to the valve and if they have to cut a lot of calcified tissue out, they can cut...

I wouldn't wait too long. I don't think I had really obvious symptoms. They sneak up on you gradually and you don't really notice. My cardio talked me out of surgery in April 2015. In October 2015, I got the feeling he was going to do it again, but I was more assertive. He took a second look at...

I have a St. Jude's. I had a similar experience to what Paleowoman described.. When the valve was new and my body was injured and inflamed from surgery, I heard it all the time. Now I rarely hear it unless I want to hear it. I hear it right now because it is late and quiet and everyone's...

Did not need pre-surgery dental clearance. Had my first cleaning 4 months post-op. Cardio was cool with it. Prescribed antibiotics and did not have me change my warfarin dosage.

I have no idea. I don't remember the first 20 hours after surgery.

1. Scale of 0 to 10, with Zero being pin-drop silence, and Ten being someone talking to you in a "normal" human voice (which I assume is louder than the valve), what number would you assign to your valve clicking? 3 2. Is your valve noise comparable to the strong tick of a cheap watch? Or...

​I had a CT scan and an angiogram.

I was surprised that they left my temporary pacing wires inside of my body and that from time-to-time they stab me from the inside and cause pain and bruising. ​I was surprised that I ended up with 3rd degree heart block. My atria beat but the signal never makes it to my ventricles without a...

I also had a TIA. I had AVR 1/11/2016 and my pacemaker implanted on 1/16/2016. I went home 1/17/2016. On 1/21/2016 I woke up from a nap and was completely confused. I could not remember having heart surgery. I asked my wife, "How did I get here? Did I have heart surgery?" She showed me my...

Pellicle helped me too. With the self testing I wash my hands until the water feels too hot. Then I use the rubber band trick in Pellicle's video. I always get a beautiful drop of blood that way. I wasted several strips early on. Just to give an idea of differences among people: My average...

Glad it went well. I had it done from my right wrist in November. There was an inflated bracelet/tourniquet over the site to stop the bleeding. I felt like my wrist had been slammed in a car for several days. I had an ice pack on it for a couple of days. The pain was caused by the bracelet.

Steve, Have you heard of the Medtronic Micra pacemaker? It just came out. It doesn't require leads. It is implanted inside of your heart through a catheter. I don't qualify because I need a dual chamber pacemaker, but I am hoping for improvements when my battery is low. I am hoping you have a...

I test on Saturday. I call in my INR on an automated system. The clinic calls me on Monday and tells me my self reported INR. I love the ridiculousness of it. Congrats on 25 years. All The longevity here is inspiring. I am going on 6 months.

While the Cleveland Clinic is awesome, you have the 2 best hospitals for heart surgery in California (according to US News) in your own backyard. Cedars is #10 and UCLA was #12. I live in Temecula and seriously considered going to Cedars Sinai (#10 nationally/ #1 in California). It's a 100 mile...

I had AVR 1/11/16 and pacemaker implant on 1/16/16. I am also on Coumadin. I have been to Disneyland approximately 3 times since. I went on all of the big rides, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, California Screamin', Indiana Jones, and Splash Mountain without any problems.

I had AVR 1/11/16 and pacemaker implant on 1/16/16. I am also on Coumadin. I have been to Disneyland approximately 3 times since. I went on all of the big rides, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, California Screamin', Indiana Jones, and Splash Mountain without any problems.

After about 3 weeks in the hospital, I slept for about a month in a leather, electric recliner that we purchased for my recovery. I'm sitting in it as I type. About 7 weeks post-op I had to sleep in the bed. It was uncomfortable at first but it became preferable to sleeping in the chair. The...

I'm a side sleeper. Post surgery I spent most of the next 3 weeks in a hospital bed. I then slept in an armchair for about a month. I finally slept in my own bed and eventually on my side. I sleep almost exclusively on my right side because I have a pacemaker on the left side of my chest and it...