B
Bionic Valve Tim
I've been lurking on the site for a few weeks, and since I now have a surgery date, I figured I would say hello and talk about my valve choice, since a few other 30-somethings have been posting about similar dilemmas. Please excuse my wordiness 
I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve which was discovered during a physical in high school. They sent me to a great Cardiologist (Dr. Levene in the Denver area) and did an echo; Dr. Levene told me that someday I'd probably need a replacement. Being 18, I said "ok, whatever" and largely forgot about it.
This summer I went to a cardio for the first time in several years--so long ago(and so far in the recesses of my brain!), that I couldn't remember who my cardio was, so I just went to a new one. Dr. Licht ordered a stress test and an echo. Moments after the stress test began, he commented that I was really out of shape--my heart rate had skyrocketed. I thought this was odd. I knew I was out of shape by my standards, but I'm a fairly active guy, playing recreational hockey, coaching wrestling, and generally keeping busy.
An hour or so later, as I was getting my echo, the tech called Dr. Licht in, and he said "Wow, that's impressive!" He then said the stress test made a lot of sense--my valve was leaking like a sieve and it was time to replace it.
I asked how urgent it was and he said that it wasn't an emergency, but I wouldn't want to waste time. He groaned when I mentioned that I was getting married in about 3 weeks, and then going to Jamaica for my honeymoon. The tech also noticed that I was 3 days shy of my 31st birthday--a birthday I won't soon forget!
Well, the honeymoon had to get rescheduled (don't get me started on my battle against the penalty fees!) and on Friday I met with Dr. Pang, the surgeon Dr. Licht had recommended to me. Armed with what I had learned from this site, I was able to ask some reasonably intelligent questions and I really feel great about Dr. Pang. In fact, I feel relieved at finally having a date: Oct 12th (two days after my wedding).
Dr. Pang's valve of choice is the ON-X valve. It was the one that drew my attention originally, and I was glad to hear him speak so highly of it. He doesn't tons of VRs, and he said it has been his first choice since it was approved.
In the time between the surgeon and the cardio, I was fairly conflicted about valve selection--I didn't relish the idea of Coumadin. The notion that Coumadin may be replaced/improved sometime in my lifetime wasn't a factor in the decision, but it would be a nice bonus. As it is, I've decided that there are worse fates in life than Coumadin. All of the doctors I've talked to have strongly recommended a mech. valve, so that's good enough for me!
Incidentally, my symptoms have been subtle, but make a lot of sense in retrospect. A few years back I started treatment for depression, for which my primary (but not only) symptom was fatigue. I've steadily gained a lot of weight as my fatigue made me more and more sedentary. This summer, I really busted my butt to get in shape and lose weight for the wedding, but I found myself unable to jog around the block at more than a snail's pace. I told myself that I was getting older (30!) and that I must've let myself get more out-of-shape than I thought.
The doctor seemed pretty surprised that I wasn't sick, given my echo results. He was impressed that I'd only come in for a "routine" check-up!
Thank you to everyone who posts to this site--the wealth of information has made this much easier to deal with. I'll be reading the site as I can, but with the wedding this weekend, I don't know that I'll be posting much. I will be sure to report on my surgery and my new bionic valve when I get home.
Thanks,
Tim
I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve which was discovered during a physical in high school. They sent me to a great Cardiologist (Dr. Levene in the Denver area) and did an echo; Dr. Levene told me that someday I'd probably need a replacement. Being 18, I said "ok, whatever" and largely forgot about it.
This summer I went to a cardio for the first time in several years--so long ago(and so far in the recesses of my brain!), that I couldn't remember who my cardio was, so I just went to a new one. Dr. Licht ordered a stress test and an echo. Moments after the stress test began, he commented that I was really out of shape--my heart rate had skyrocketed. I thought this was odd. I knew I was out of shape by my standards, but I'm a fairly active guy, playing recreational hockey, coaching wrestling, and generally keeping busy.
An hour or so later, as I was getting my echo, the tech called Dr. Licht in, and he said "Wow, that's impressive!" He then said the stress test made a lot of sense--my valve was leaking like a sieve and it was time to replace it.
I asked how urgent it was and he said that it wasn't an emergency, but I wouldn't want to waste time. He groaned when I mentioned that I was getting married in about 3 weeks, and then going to Jamaica for my honeymoon. The tech also noticed that I was 3 days shy of my 31st birthday--a birthday I won't soon forget!
Well, the honeymoon had to get rescheduled (don't get me started on my battle against the penalty fees!) and on Friday I met with Dr. Pang, the surgeon Dr. Licht had recommended to me. Armed with what I had learned from this site, I was able to ask some reasonably intelligent questions and I really feel great about Dr. Pang. In fact, I feel relieved at finally having a date: Oct 12th (two days after my wedding).
Dr. Pang's valve of choice is the ON-X valve. It was the one that drew my attention originally, and I was glad to hear him speak so highly of it. He doesn't tons of VRs, and he said it has been his first choice since it was approved.
In the time between the surgeon and the cardio, I was fairly conflicted about valve selection--I didn't relish the idea of Coumadin. The notion that Coumadin may be replaced/improved sometime in my lifetime wasn't a factor in the decision, but it would be a nice bonus. As it is, I've decided that there are worse fates in life than Coumadin. All of the doctors I've talked to have strongly recommended a mech. valve, so that's good enough for me!
Incidentally, my symptoms have been subtle, but make a lot of sense in retrospect. A few years back I started treatment for depression, for which my primary (but not only) symptom was fatigue. I've steadily gained a lot of weight as my fatigue made me more and more sedentary. This summer, I really busted my butt to get in shape and lose weight for the wedding, but I found myself unable to jog around the block at more than a snail's pace. I told myself that I was getting older (30!) and that I must've let myself get more out-of-shape than I thought.
The doctor seemed pretty surprised that I wasn't sick, given my echo results. He was impressed that I'd only come in for a "routine" check-up!
Thank you to everyone who posts to this site--the wealth of information has made this much easier to deal with. I'll be reading the site as I can, but with the wedding this weekend, I don't know that I'll be posting much. I will be sure to report on my surgery and my new bionic valve when I get home.
Thanks,
Tim
