15 years

[spartangator]

15 years ago today, I was getting out of the hospital post-surgery and clutching that chest pillow like it was my job! Hard to believe it's been that long, and I've largely been able to do as I like since so I'm grateful for the success.
A recent check-up may be pointing that some changes are happening, but we'll cross that bridge in due time, and it's wonderful to know that we have so many options these days, and that things caught early can largely be handled.
Here's to many more anniversaries for all!

 

[Chuck C]

Congratulations Spartangator! Here's to many many more!

 

[Beach77]

Congratulations That's awesome! 15 years!

 

[AZATADINE]

Congratulations. Is your valve tissue or mechanical?

 

[Chuck C]

Is your valve tissue or mechanical?

Per his signature, it looks like he had a Ross Procedure in 2007.

 

[ValveAdmin]

Congratulations on your 15th! Here's to many more years.

 

[Superman]

Go spartangator, and Go Green!

 

[Chuck C]

Go spartangator, and Go Green

Good point. He's not on warfarin, so he can eat greens

 

[spartangator]

Per his signature, it looks like he had a Ross Procedure in 2007.

Yeah, everything is biological, apart from the Dacron wraps.
I did just have a CT scan, and I'm not thrilled about my ascending aortic growing to 4.1. That's been a steady march in annual scans and might be a function of just getting older, but it's definitely causing big emotions this week.

 

[spartangator]

Good point. He's not on warfarin, so he can eat greens

Key part of every meal! And cheering for Michigan State is fun as well!
Though I do also want to say that because of everyone here, including many of you in this thread specifically, I have basically zero concern about ever having to take warfarin, should that day come, so hats off for the impactful work you do sharing insights.

 

[Croooser]

Congrats on the 15 years!!!

What is the rate of increase in the ascending aorta? I am no expert, but I believe the general rule of thumb is 5.0 before surgery is indicated.

FWIW I was tested at 4.7 in 2003 and it stayed between 4.7 and 4.9 for 18 years. My understanding is that measurement can vary a little based on testing.

So, 4.1 may not necessarily represent any near to mid term problem if it is not increasing at a steady rate.

Had mine fixed when my valve went to severe last year.

YMMV

 

[johninsd]

I'm on warfarin and I eat greens all the time. It's my understanding that the key is to be somewhat consistent. It works for me, INR hovers around 2.4 most of the time. I test at a lab usually every 6 weeks - no big deal, the lab is about a mile from home. I had an AVR in November 2014 along with a dacron graft (my aneurysm was right at the aortic root so the valve was not closing,, hence the need for replacement). I do have a bovine valve but I'm on warfarin anyway due to several episodes of atrial flutter - too much risk of a stroke to go without it.

 

[spartangator]

Congrats on the 15 years!!!

What is the rate of increase in the ascending aorta? I am no expert, but I believe the general rule of thumb is 5.0 before surgery is indicated.

FWIW I was tested at 4.7 in 2003 and it stayed between 4.7 and 4.9 for 18 years. My understanding is that measurement can vary a little based on testing.

So, 4.1 may not necessarily represent any near to mid term problem if it is not increasing at a steady rate.

Had mine fixed when my valve went to severe last year.

YMMV

Yeah, adept question, for sure. As you note, there really only seems to be a rule of thumb here, and there is substantial disagreement about what counts as an issue. Interestingly, I've found some research showing the valve measurement is often largely correlated to a person's size, too, so it's even harder for practitioners to make evidence-driven decisions.

That said, the rate of increase is showing a pattern I'm not a fan of. I'm looking at my EHR now, and it was 3.5 in summer of 2016 and has ticked up a little at each annual check-up (with some perturbations like allegedly going down from 4 to 3.8 between '21 and '22), but I just got reviewed/updated results from a CT scan last, and we're up to 4.2.

Again, that's not a huge number. I just don't like being in this spot again (who does?!) and feeling a bit like I have a bomb in my chest (not to be dramatic, but that is my thought, unfortunately). I'm trying to schedule a follow-up cardio appointment now.

 

[Chuck C]

I'm on warfarin and I eat greens all the time.

Me too. My comment about eating greens was tongue in cheek, just to be clear. Because there are still a few out there telling people not to eat greens while on warfarin, most of us on it know so well that this advice is rubbish that we sometimes kid about it. But, we do need to keep in mind that others might come across our threads who are not up to speed on what one can and can't do on warfarin. So, to be clear, I am on warfarin and I probably eat more greens than a lowland gorilla.

 

[spartangator]

Me too. My comment about eating greens was tongue in cheek, just to be clear. Because there are still a few out there telling people not to eat greens while on warfarin, most of us on it know so well that this advice is rubbish that we sometimes kid about it. But, we do need to keep in mind that others might come across our threads who are not up to speed on what one can and can't do on warfarin. So, to be clear, I am on warfarin and I probably eat more greens than a lowland gorilla.

I'm laughing at the National Geographic image of the gorilla chewing with the sort-of sideways operating jaw to make mush out of leaves . That is a great image.