Bio valve - how/what can the patient do to get the most mileage from valve

[Luckyguy17]

Read a one liner from a senior member about 10 days ago in a pre op post i think, that talked about why a mechanical valve is preferred for younger patients.

Believe that the thought was that younger patients may have a more active lifestyle and more importantly may have a more active immune system and therefore would likely "calcify" a bio valve more rapidly than an older patient , unless i misuderstood.

So for those out there that have a history of AVR, are there any tips for the newbie bio recipients on what we can do as patients to increase the odds of maximizing time on the bio prosthetic valve.

Yeah i know the mech recipients will say get a mech valve, it'll likely outlive you.

I have no qualms about my and my surgeons bio choice, but there is so little, we as patients can do to control the surgical process, but maybe lifestyle/habits of the patient post op, may be a factor in bio longevity, although am not sure i would want to suppress my immune system.

So if i have unbderstood correctly, BAV and calcification got me and most to AVR. No longer have BAV, therefore calcification is now the major risk..hope i got it right?

Looking forward to some thoughts and suggestions on what may work to max out mileage on that lil prosthetic, which has become a really good friend as of late....lifesaving in fact.

Gil

 

[malibu82]

good question i would like to know as well!

 

[Lynlw]

As far as I know (and we've aske MANY of the leading surgeons/cardiologists) there isn't anything you can do or avoid to slow it down. The amount of activity doesn't have any effect, it is a chemical/immune thing.
The newer valves have anti-calcification treatment and for the most part last longer than the earlier generations, which is why some of the major centers use tissue valves in younger (40-60) patients. well a combination of valves lasting longer AND surgical success rates for REDOs being so much better than they were. Here is an interesting article http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/con...FIRSTINDEX=0&minscore=5000&resourcetype=HWCIT Very Long-Term Survival Implications of Heart Valve Replacement With Tissue Versus Mechanical Prostheses in Adults <60 Years of Age
And many of the people in thier study, had older valves, since it goes back to surgeries from 69-2004.

 

[Ross]

Sheesh, such an obvious answer. Sit in a rocking chair, on the porch, shotgun to the right, pistol on your side, lemonade in front of you and do nothing but watch the world go by.

 

[Luckyguy17]

Thanks Lyn, your are just a wealth of reference information, you must have mastered the art of web search, thanks

In meantime, am following Ross's recommendations, but we have gun laws in Canada and few human intruders, quite safe really, now if i could only do something about the visting nightime intruders, raccoons, Lynx, foxes and wolves, to better protect domestic pets/cats and such

Malibu, unless someone else chirps in we may need to, eat, sleep and sit out on the porch to watch surises and sunsets, or as an altrnative, we can live the moment with boundless energy and savour our newfound health...tough call (smile)

 

[Luckyguy17]

Lyn, Am liking the conclusion of the study, eat, sleep and be merry and if lucky maybe 20+ years of blissful life, till decisions.

Funny how so many of these papers originate in Canada, guess our reasearch is better funded, then the entrepreneurial spirit of America, geez 10x times the population in US, but less co-operation? (grin)

pretty good odds for me, liking the stats, case closed...next (smile)

As far as I know (and we've aske MANY of the leading surgeons/cardiologists) there isn't anything you can do or avoid to slow it down. The amount of activity doesn't have any effect, it is a chemical/immune thing.
The newer valves have anti-calcification treatment and for the most part last longer than the earlier generations, which is why some of the major centers use tissue valves in younger (40-60) patients. well a combination of valves lasting longer AND surgical success rates for REDOs being so much better than they were. Here is an interesting article http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/con...FIRSTINDEX=0&minscore=5000&resourcetype=HWCIT Very Long-Term Survival Implications of Heart Valve Replacement With Tissue Versus Mechanical Prostheses in Adults <60 Years of Age
And many of the people in thier study, had older valves, since it goes back to surgeries from 69-2004.

 

[Superbob]

Sheesh, such an obvious answer. Sit in a rocking chair, on the porch, shotgun to the right, pistol on your side, lemonade in front of you and do nothing but watch the world go by.

LOL! And read "Playboy." (Or at least peruse the photo layouts.)

 

[Lynlw]

Thanks Lyn, your are just a wealth of reference information, you must have mastered the art of web search, thanks

In meantime, am following Ross's recommendations, but we have gun laws in Canada and few human intruders, quite safe really, now if i could only do something about the visting nightime intruders, raccoons, Lynx, foxes and wolves, to better protect domestic pets/cats and such

Malibu, unless someone else chirps in we may need to, eat, sleep and sit out on the porch to watch surises and sunsets, or as an altrnative, we can live the moment with boundless energy and savour our newfound health...tough call (smile)

I've been doing this, researching articles (was MUCH harder when you had to GO to a medical library -it wasn't online) and asking doctors these questions for 22 years now, so am getting good at it.
For the most part, "younger" that really calcify quickly is much younger, like teens/20s/30s. Several doctors i've talked to about this (since justin has had most of his surgeries because of calification) believe it is pretty related to bone building. Since the younger kids/teens are constantly growing, building bone and broken bones heal faster, they calcify quicker (it is not really calcium, its mostly apatite) as you get older and it takes longer to heal breaks, bones aren't as dense in manypeople as they were when they were younger, that is probably related to slower calcifying of valves, conduits.

Being active is just good, doesn't make valves wear out any sooner and chancer are you'll be in better shape when you need it replaced.

 

[scott.eitman]

For what it is worth, my calcification looks to be on the vertricle wall and not on the homograft aortic valve. I am 46; maybe it is too much lemonade. However, to me it looks to be from the blood rushing back into the heart and swirling around.

 

[Luckyguy17]

Scott,
Ross will have you believe it is not too much lemonade, it is too much or too little sex, Ross is pretty much convinced it all starts there, but taking off on another direction, it is interesting (maybe) that AVR patients seem to have lower incidence or arterial buildup....geez polling the members on that may be a worthwhile thread, whew scattered thoughts, but am more careful on spelling, where's that spellcheck, whew, eben more scaterred, gotta be the meds?

Lyn,
you are an inspiration with your factuals, am 56, I think my bone structure is in place, been all of 5'8" for a few years now and for the remainder of my life, will live it up and it is all because of you...i owe you...and if i need an early re op it is your fault (kidding of course, smile)...seriously thanks for the 22 years of research and sharing

all the best ...Gil

For what it is worth, my calcification looks to be on the vertricle wall and not on the homograft aortic valve. I am 46; maybe it is too much lemonade. However, to me it looks to be from the blood rushing back into the heart and swirling around.

 

[ottagal]

Hi Gil!
Good question...just had a long reply for you, but lost the post (darn). So, it will be a shorter recap. My surgeon was part of the study that Lyn cited (and she is a wealth of information) and this is one of the reasons he recommended a tissue valve for me although I am considered in the young category (ultimately, I had to make the final decision). He told me to expect 10 years (even with this new anticalcification coating on the valve - give or take a few). When I asked if there was anything I could do to slow down the process, he said no. He did mention that there is a preliminary study looking at ASA use and longevity of artificial valves, but it is in the infancy stages and it will be many, many years before preliminary data is released. It was once thought cholesterol medication might slow down the process. Unfortunately, the results from the study were not promising (recall this from one of Tobago's posts).

I am taking Lyn's advice and am going to try and stay as healthy as possible until next time around.


So...may I join you and Malibu with 'living in the moment'?

 

[Bina]

Well Ross, I guess it's just you and me sitting in the rocking chair on the front porch with our lemonades.....Hmmm, maybe I'll order more online stuff using UPS this week so that I can jump the young dude in the brown shorts.

 

[Luana]

Bina, I shop online a lot. The other day I was at a red light only a few blocks from home, glanced next to me and saw a UPS truck and my delivery guy. He waved to me.

 

[Ross]

Well Ross, I guess it's just you and me sitting in the rocking chair on the front porch with our lemonades.....Hmmm, maybe I'll order more online stuff using UPS this week so that I can jump the young dude in the brown shorts.

Did I mention that I applied for a UPS drivers position in Canada?

 

[Luckyguy17]

Ottawagal, thank for piping up and providing clarification on the study, don't you hate that when you type a whole lot and everything blows away, has happened to Andy and I a few times arghhh, but i guess were just windbags and welcome to the club of living today, with Jacquie, mentu, MK, myself and others, as said, decision made and will live with it till next decision needs be made

Ross, Bina, pouring rain out here today, yukky, feel like Jacquie did yesterday, but Ross UPS drivers are outrageouly bad drivers, even by Quebec standards, which are not high...the only advantage i can see from driving UPS truck (if you take the job), is you are up high and can see into convertibles and through sunroofs...but then again i thought the drive topless thing was more south and predominant in Georgia I think....so you want to apply for UPS in Georgia, Texas, California or some of those other southern better clime states...up here summer is far too short and there are almost 10 months of heavy wool sweaters...even worse up in SK where Freddie lives....Ross are you about to move this thread as well for the frisky response (grin) am just calling a spade a spade

 

[Luckyguy17]

Bina, I shop online a lot. The other day I was at a red light only a few blocks from home, glanced next to me and saw a UPS truck and my delivery guy. He waved to me.

Luana, gosh mistook you for Bina, but just realized she is sitting out on the porch with Ross....so welcome to the frisky club, were you doing anything special when the friendly UPS guy waved at you?

There was a time, ahh when the milkman came around and the other day the propagation of BAV led back to the milkman, could the UPS guy be taken his place, i wonder?

 

[Luana]

Luana, gosh mistook you for Bina, but just realized she is sitting out on the porch with Ross....so welcome to the frisky club, were you doing anything special when the friendly UPS guy waved at you?

Not really, I wasn't driving topless because I don't have a convertible.

 

[Gail in Ca]

UPS guys are always very happy, it seems. I remember when I got my porcine valve, I did what I thought was all the right things to keep it going for 15+ yrs. Jazzercise and step aerobics (on 2 risers) 3x's a week, walking my dog 4 x's a week, staying slender, eating right, etc. My cardio always said each yrly visit, 'So you have (insert number) on this valve", as it got closer to 10. It used to bug me because I just knew I'd get more yrs than the average person, I was so healthy, right? So, when it was 11 yrs and leaking and calcified, I burst into tears when he said I needed it replaced. I was 34 when I got the porcine. Fast forward to last yr, and my surgeon and cardio both said if I had to have homograph or tissue, I could expect 10 yrs, even at age 54, what??? I said even the bovine, porcine, etc etc, and they said, 10 yrs is still average. That was a shock to me, as I thought so much would've changed in 20 yrs. So, good luck to all you tissue valvers. Really enjoy those yrs with the valve, don't take it for granted. But, I guess if you want to sit around and drink homemade lemonade, then it obviously doesn't matter in the least on valve longevity.

 

[ARGreenMN]

All you frisky folks need to go over to the frisky forum. The post is something like "Continued from Gil's Thread". I think it's in the Lifestyles forum (aka frisky forum).

 

[Penny]

for the most part, "younger" that really calcify quickly is much younger, like teens/20s. 30s several doctors i've talked to about this (since justin has had most of his surgeries because of calification) believe it is pretty related to bone building.

Interesting this quote, I went for years being sick (due to vitamin deficiency) with celiac and wonder if my body was working harder rebuild the bone loss that I was experiencing. Awww if only I were a scientist Lol

Andy apparently really likes the frisky forum. ha ha ha