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Truth? Truth? Don't believe everything you read in books. Many years ago while working for the Feds, I used to spend considerable time in helicoptors. Someone once told me that the more I flew in helicoptors the greater my chances would be to be involved in a helicoptor crash. During my last...

Check the Rules Check the Rules His mother's expectation that your stepson see his did in the ICU (ICCU in my case) may be a moot point. Hospitals tend to have rules regarding patient visits immediately following surgery. My hospital had me in an ICCU immediately following surgery; visits were...

Exercise Concern Exercise Concern Sure, have him get checked-out if there's a concern, but there are possibilities other than serious heart ailment. Consider the fact that you noted that he isn't in very good physical shape. All of a sudden he engages in some pretty intense physical activity...

Choices Choices As others have noted, experiences vary. Valve noise isn't really a problem for me. I've never had any issues with restrictions or limitations when it comes to activities or exercise. My cardiologist actually put me in a cardiac rehab program at two weeks post-op to slow me...

Plans Plans It's good to hear that you've got plans to continue pursuing your competitive activities. There's no bad choice when you need your valve replaced. While I gave up whitewater kayaking long before my AVR surgery, my mechanical valve and coumadin use has never stopped me from doing...

Differences? Differences? I really can't speak to differences as I had no symptoms associated with my bad valve before its replacement in 2007. I can tell you that my St Jude mechanical has imposed no limitations. I cycle a lot, sometimes run, and play golf regularly. Prior to moving to...

Comfort Level Comfort Level Yeah, the question tends to make one feel awkward... I remember how it felt the first few times I was asked. It doesn't bother me as much any more and I don't mind giving a brief rendition of my experience. Hopefully, those who ask leave me with a perspective on OHS...

Book? Book? Yeah, I remember someone else who did the book thing based upon information he got here... it didn't seem to go over very well. The surveys and questionaires as well as the fact that someone was making money off the folks here generated a lot of hostility... I'll pass on surveys...

Tick... tick Tick... tick Body acoustics differ among individuals and often for individuals a click or tick is noticable and sometimes those same folks don't notice it all the time. Mine doesn't make noise loud enough for anyone else to hear it. It's hard to predict what you will notice and...

Replacement & Repair Time Replacement & Repair Time I grew-up with the knowledge that I had a heart mumur as well. I got over fifty years of service out of my original equipment before replacement became necessary and it was an aortic aneuryism that motivated me to get things fixed. Overall, I...

Maybe... maybe not Maybe... maybe not Yeah, it's difficult to tell, but there's zero history of any kind of heart disease or heart issues on either side of my family tree. I'm also the only one who's totally color blind... no indications in my well-researched family tree of any other family...

Where's my bag of meds? Where's my bag of meds? If it's any consolation, I don't pack a bag of meds around with me (and I say this with humor intended). Sure, I've got a bottle of 5 mg coumadin pills, a bottle of 2.5 mg coumadin, and a bottle of Diovan (BP med). I really doubt that I need the...

Hereditary Factors Hereditary Factors If I inherited my BAV from a family, it was someone who is long gone. Neither of my parents, grandparents and great grandparents had issues with any kind of heart disease. I've no doubt there's a recessive gene lurking back in the family tree somewhere...

Strips Strips There are numerous suppliers for InRatio test strips. I've never found a pharmacy that stocks test strips. Test strips are not something that your local drug store can sell enough of to make money. I stopped buying boxes of 12 a long time ago. It's simply cheaper for me to...

Offended? Offended? Ambriz, Your analogy about a prison sentence with bags of meds wasn't offensive. There are lots of varying opinions out there and even among members here about coumadin. Yes, there are some members here who suscribe to the opinion that it's a bad drug and should be avoided...

Prison Sentence? Prison Sentence? A prison sentence of bags of medications... I've never heard concerns about taking coumadin put quite that way. Actually, given the kinds of misconcetions about the drug that are out there, your concerns are pretty normal. Life tends to present all kinds of...

Alcohol? Alcohol? Monitor, monitor, monitor... As others have indicated, it varies among individuals. I did some drinking at a family wedding on Saturday. I'll probably run an extra check on my INR on Monday just to see where I'm at. -Philip

Choices Choices First, what's wrong with getting a mechanical valve? I've got one and it's never stopped me from doing what I want to do. If you've been paying attention to the remarks made here by members when this topic comes up, you'd realize that a large number of us live normal, active...

Tissue? Tissue? It'd be easy to launch into a rant about the longevity of tissue valves here, but that would serve little positive purpose. Hopefully, the time you've had with the tissue valve has enhanced the quality of your life. The reality is that we never really know how much time we'll...

Cold or Heat Cold or Heat For minor injuries, the general rule I've always used (old school athletic training), right or wrong, is to use cold for the first 48 hours followed with heat. For me, it also depends upon the injury. If I've got something that has continued swelling beyond 48 hours...