Bi valver and other questions, anyone, Help :(

[thecman321]

My 33 year old wife had AVR Jan 2005 with a mechanical valve and is doing great! This was a result of a birth defect that she had known all her life and part of a syndrome known as "shone's". At the time of surgery the surgeon also noted a abnormal looking but normally functioning mitral valve.
Our worst fears became a reality this past weekend with the results of an echo showing some mitral valve leakage. NO TALK OF SURGERY AT THIS TIME BUT she has an upcoming cardio appointment and I hope someone can answer some questions OR give me some questions to ask the cardio at the next visit.
Anyone care to share their personal bivalve stories with us so we dont feel so alone?

How much leakage is too much leakage for the mitral valve?
Could the new mechanical aorta valve cause damage to the mitral?
What are the symptoms ( she has none) ?
Is there anything that can be done to maintain status quo or prevent surgery?
What damage occurs to the heart with mitral valve leakage? What are the mechanics of it?

Any links to educate us on this topic would also be appreciated.


C

 

[Nancy]

This is a good resource for info on various valves.

http://www.texasheartinstitute.org/HIC/Topics/Cond/valvedis.cfm

There are many degrees of valve impairment. You will want to ask the card. how serious her mitral valve is. If it is trace, mild and for the most part moderate with no symptoms, they will usually wait. If she becomes symptomatic, then that's different, and has to be assessed at that time.

My husband has two mecianicals. His aortic was the first one, and it had nothing to do with his mitral valve problems. He had rheumatic fever as a teenager and it ruined his valves. He also has a tricuspid which is leaking severely, but he is not a candidate for surgery at this time.

He's actually had three valve surgeries, aortic, mitral and then a repair on the mitral.

You can also go to the "Reference Sources" forum right on this site. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and change the display options to "Beginning", and you will see TON of very excellent resources. Should keep you very busy for about a month.

 

[Karlynn]

Welcome!

We have several members here w/ 2 or more valves having issues. How much leakage are they seeing in your wife's mitral valve? I don't think there is any rule of thumb on how fast or slowly or steady or sporadic a rate the leakage will progress. I don't think it is unheard of for another valve to begin to have a few problems after OHS for another valve. The stress on the heart is significant. This doesn't mean that the valve will continue to deteriorate.

My tricuspid valve has gone back and forth between trivial and mild leakage. Part of me wonders how much has been actual change in the valve, and how much was just the differences in the echos.

How's your wife doing with Coumadin? This place is a great resource for those of us that take Coumadin. There is so much myth out there and we always like to check to make sure that our new members (or their spouses) are operating off of correct information when it comes to their Coumadin therapy. We have a member, Al Lodwick, that runs his own anticoagulation clinic and is kind enough to keep us up to speed on the current information. He also has a great site that I would highly recommend bookmarking www.warfarinfo.com.

 

[Mary]

I see you've been a member since 2004, and your wife had to deal with having an aortic valve replaced in 2005 when her porcine valve became stenotic. Nancy's given you excellent resources to look at, and I think the questions posed in your thread are good ones to ask the cardiologist.
Please let us know what his answers are. I think we always worry a little about the mitral valve after having the aortic one replaced. I know that I do!

 

[sylviayasgur]

what a coincidence_ i was about to post something similar!!!

what a coincidence_ i was about to post something similar!!!

hi C,

my father had avr just about 6 years ago and got a mechanical st. jude's valve. he opted for that because he was in chronic afib and is, to this day, still in afib all the time and takes coumadin, which he manages fine.

about a year and a half ago, he went in to have a hernia removed surgically and his surgeon was very unfamiliar with managing coumadin before and after surgery. as a result, he almost bled to death.
he has since (and it's taken some time) pretty much recovered to the point where he has resumed his golf game.

he went for an echo this week and i heard today, from my very upset mom. that his cardio sees a leakage (i assume it's substantial enough) in his mitral valve and recommends surgery in the next few months. he seems to be feeling fine and hasn't complained of symptoms other than his stomach (the hematoma from his bleed that won't totally go down) and his ankles swell if he remains standing still for long periods of time (they don't swell when he sleeps or when he is moving, walking). he takes lasix daily for both.

i am going to push him to see another cardio and get a second opinion.
my mother is a wreck because of what happened the last time he had the hernia surgery and the complications involved with the coumadin.
we are, needless to say, all very upset.

mntbiker has already been helping with info about docs in nyc. any other info would be more than helpful and reassuring.

haven't been here in awhile, picked up one kid from her freshman year and she LOVED it (yeay) and then went to our older daughter's college graduation... all these nice things (my parents went too), and now this let down..
oh well, we'll all deal.



hope you are all well,
sylvia

 

[Sunshine susan]

Oh, the joy of it all.....

Oh, the joy of it all.....

Hi there, although just a few years older, I am sort of in the same position as your wife. I had AVR in 2/1999 due to a congenital bicuspid aortic valve. Surgery with St. Judes and recovery almost a walk in the park. I had not known of the problem all my life though--only that I had a murmur that would probably go away with age. Famous last words from a locally renowned pediatrician! Anyway, my mitral valve is also now leaking. Cardio (great doctor, love him) said we don't need to do anything about it "yet"--he made a special emphasis of that word. Other than some fatigue (but then I go like 90 all the time too), I can't say I have any symptoms. I was proactive with the AVR, but for now am going to sit back on this one for now and see how it shakes out. This is a great site for people to discuss these kinds of issues. Tell her to hang in there but to know her body and speak up if something seems amiss. Good luck!