13 year Edwards Magna Perimount Anniversary

[BAVD John]

I just thought I'd drop in and let you know I celebrate my 13th year with my bovine valve. Tomorrow is my 44th wedding anniversary so I have much to be thankful for. So far so good with my valve. My next echo isn't until early next year. I'm doing well, staying active and enjoying life as much as I can.

I've mentioned this in the past but I mention it again. I'm the oldest of four males in my family. We all have had our aortic valves replaced, all bicuspid. Brother #2 just had his replaced at age 62. Three of us have the Edwards bovine valve and my youngest brother, #3, has a mechanical valve that was replaced at around age 38, he is I believe 58 now. He also had his aorta replaced/repaired at that time. We almost lost him to aneurysm. In his case his valve and aorta were replaced at the same time. Brother #2, also had a triple bypass at the time of his replacement. Could have lost him as well as he then had his carotid artery repaired 10 weeks after his valve and bypass surgery. He is about 3 weeks post op of his carotid artery surgery and doing fine.

Two of my cousins, both on my dad's side of the family have valve issues as well. At 70 one had her uni-valve replaced and my other cousin is being monitored now. She is about 68 years of age. We can't seem to figure out how this is being passed down. Neither of my parents had aortic valve issues. My grandmother on my fathers side pass at 88 due to other reasons. My grandfather on my fathers side passed in 1955 or 56, heart issues but there are no records confirming his real cause of death.

Best wishes to all you.

 

[Paleowoman]

Congratulations on your Wedding Anniversary and on your 13th year with your bovine valve !

You certainly have a lot of bicuspid in your family. I seem to be the only one in my family, no one else had heart, or has heart, issues.

 

[Chuck C]

Congratulations John! Well done!

That is a remarkable family history of valve disease. The current estimates when one has a bicuspid valve is that immediate family members have about a 10% chance of also being bicuspid. The fact that all four of your brothers are bicuspid is highly suggestive that there is much more to the genetics than is currently known.

Given the high level of valve disease and heart disease in your family, at relatively young ages, has your family had their Lp(a) levels tested? In families with high levels of Lp(a) there is often early heart disease. Also, when levels are very high it can make individuals prone to valve calcification. There are also specific SNPs which are associated with high Lp(a) and have a high association with valve disease.

It is a simple lipid test and can be ordered at any lab by any physician. It is well worth knowing and you only need to test once because, unlike LDL, it does not change with lifestyle changes, such as diet and exercise. It is most often overlooked and often ends up being the culprit. I would be more supsicious of Lp(a), if not for the fact that you and your brothers are bicuspid, which is likely the driver for the valve disease. However, a little known fact is that some valves are not bicuspid by birth and become bicuspid due to large amounts of calcification which then fuses two of the leaflets over time. So, if there was an SNP which was associated with elevated Lp(a) and valve disease, it might cause valves to fuse and become bicuspid at some point after birth. Anyway, worth checking out just to know, especially for the younger generation.

 

[pellicle]

Hi John

I've mentioned this in the past but I mention it again. I'm the oldest of four males in my family. We all have had our aortic valves replaced, all bicuspid. Brother #2 just had his replaced at age 62. Three of us have the Edwards bovine valve and my youngest brother, #3, has a mechanical valve that was replaced at around age 38, he is I believe 58 now. He also had his aorta replaced/repaired at that time. We almost lost him to aneurysm. In his case his valve and aorta were replaced at the same time. Brother #2, also had a triple bypass at the time of his replacement. Could have lost him as well as he then had his carotid artery repaired 10 weeks after his valve and bypass surgery. He is about 3 weeks post op of his carotid artery surgery and doing fine.

I was identified as having a murmur when I was about 5 and back in the 1970's I don't think much was known even in the medical community about the morphology let alone the genetic heritability of this disease. So since you have an excellent (but rather rare) significant family history (and I have a biochemistry driven genetics bent born out of my history and a need to understand it) I thought you (too) may find this interesting:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5573733/

.. Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is a common (0.5–2.0% of general population) congenital heart defect with increased prevalence of aortic dilatation and dissection. BAV has an autosomal dominant inheritance with reduced penetrance and variable expressivity. BAV has been described as an isolated trait or associated with syndromic conditions ... It is also known that BAV is more frequent in patients with thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA) related to mutations in ACTA2, FBN1, and TGFBR2 genes.​

...Genome wide marker-based linkage analysis demonstrated a linkage of BAV to loci on chromosomes 18, 5, and 13q. Recently, a role for GATA4/5 in aortic valve morphogenesis and endocardial cell differentiation has been reported. BAV has also been associated with a reduced UFD1L gene expression or involvement of a locus containing AXIN1/PDIA2. Much remains to be understood about the genetics of BAV.​

I think that's a good start if you're keen to delve into that

Best Wishes

 

[john b]

I just thought I'd drop in and let you know I celebrate my 13th year with my bovine valve. Tomorrow is my 44th wedding anniversary so I have much to be thankful for. So far so good with my valve. My next echo isn't until early next year. I'm doing well, staying active and enjoying life as much as I can.

I've mentioned this in the past but I mention it again. I'm the oldest of four males in my family. We all have had our aortic valves replaced, all bicuspid. Brother #2 just had his replaced at age 62. Three of us have the Edwards bovine valve and my youngest brother, #3, has a mechanical valve that was replaced at around age 38, he is I believe 58 now. He also had his aorta replaced/repaired at that time. We almost lost him to aneurysm. In his case his valve and aorta were replaced at the same time. Brother #2, also had a triple bypass at the time of his replacement. Could have lost him as well as he then had his carotid artery repaired 10 weeks after his valve and bypass surgery. He is about 3 weeks post op of his carotid artery surgery and doing fine.

Two of my cousins, both on my dad's side of the family have valve issues as well. At 70 one had her uni-valve replaced and my other cousin is being monitored now. She is about 68 years of age. We can't seem to figure out how this is being passed down. Neither of my parents had aortic valve issues. My grandmother on my fathers side pass at 88 due to other reasons. My grandfather on my fathers side passed in 1955 or 56, heart issues but there are no records confirming his real cause of death.

Best wishes to all you.

 

[john b]

I also 13 years with Edward’s bovine. My father also had valve replacement age 74, unfortunately did not survive the surgery.
Have two brothers with no heart issues yet must be some genetic connection.

 

[Squashplayer]

Bravo to John B. for 13 years with his Edwards bovine! Mine dates from May, 2005 (17+ years), and I remain quite active and happy! Best wishes!

 

[johnnycake23]

Lucky 13! Congratulations. Keep it up.

 

[ValveAdmin]

Congratulations on your 13th year with your bovine valve and 44th wedding anniversary. Here's to many more years on both.

 

[BAVD John]

I've been out of town for a while so I thought I'd post a quick thank you to all your well wishes and for Chuck's suggestion for the LP(a) blood test. I have 4 children and 3 grand children. All echo tested and none with a valve issue.

 

[David W]

I just thought I'd drop in and let you know I celebrate my 13th year with my bovine valve. Tomorrow is my 44th wedding anniversary so I have much to be thankful for. So far so good with my valve. My next echo isn't until early next year. I'm doing well, staying active and enjoying life as much as I can.

I've mentioned this in the past but I mention it again. I'm the oldest of four males in my family. We all have had our aortic valves replaced, all bicuspid. Brother #2 just had his replaced at age 62. Three of us have the Edwards bovine valve and my youngest brother, #3, has a mechanical valve that was replaced at around age 38, he is I believe 58 now. He also had his aorta replaced/repaired at that time. We almost lost him to aneurysm. In his case his valve and aorta were replaced at the same time. Brother #2, also had a triple bypass at the time of his replacement. Could have lost him as well as he then had his carotid artery repaired 10 weeks after his valve and bypass surgery. He is about 3 weeks post op of his carotid artery surgery and doing fine.

Two of my cousins, both on my dad's side of the family have valve issues as well. At 70 one had her uni-valve replaced and my other cousin is being monitored now. She is about 68 years of age. We can't seem to figure out how this is being passed down. Neither of my parents had aortic valve issues. My grandmother on my fathers side pass at 88 due to other reasons. My grandfather on my fathers side passed in 1955 or 56, heart issues but there are no records confirming his real cause of death.

Best wishes to all you.

Congratulations mate.