Hello from new member

[MartinF]

Recently joined and wanted to say hello. I found this site after my surgery and enjoy reading the posts. I've learned a lot that they didn't tell me. 4 years ago I had mitral valve replacement. All arteries were clear and I took the choice of minimally invasive surgery (not a member of the zipper club). Chose a tissue valve, a St Jude's but can't remember the name of it. Model on my card is E100. My natural valve failed due to torn chords that attach to the back of the leaflets. Was on Warfarin 6 months post-surgery, went off and 2 months later back in the hospital with what turned out to be a blood clot on my new valve. Luckily that dissolved but I'm still on Warfarin. Doctors have left me on Metoprolol and trying to get off it. My resting heart rate is around 48 now but was 43 until a year ago when I started a stressful job. I've been a runner all my adult life and continue to run and walk but shorter and slower. Only health issue is high blood pressure that's under control. It's hereditary but not sure what the exact cause is.

Hope to contribute when I am able.

Martin

 

[Agian]

Martin, I'm on Warfarin and a beta blocker, probably for life. No biggie. Metoprolol sucked for me. Atenolol suits me better.

 

[honeybunny]

Hello Martin, welcome to the forum. I'm confident you will have many opportunities to share your experiences and wisdom.

 

[dick0236]

Hi Martin, glad you found this site. I've learned more in the 10 years since I found the site than in the first 40 years after my surgery.

 

[pellicle]

Hi Martin, welcome aboard

.. All arteries were clear
...My resting heart rate is around 48 now but was 43 until a year ago when I started a stressful job. I've been a runner all my adult life and continue to run and walk but shorter and slower.

all sounds excellent ... keep running and you'll be well

Best Wishes

 

[QuincyRunner]

Hi Martin, Not too many mitral valve replacement folks on this site but I'm one of them like you, although I have a mechanical mitral valve, 5 years old next month. I too run quite a bit but slower and not as far, although I enjoy it much more now because it is special. In the event you end up on Warfarin long term, it is not an issue as long as you follow Pellicle's advice.

 

[MartinF]

Thanks everyone. No problem with warfarin now. I've been in range all but 2 tests in the past 3+ years. One time I hit 3.3, too many beers during the weekend before a Tuesday blood test. Then recently 1.9 after my wife started to put more greens in my diet. Target range is 2.0-3.0. Get tested every 6 weeks as long as I'm in range.

Yes I noticed not many with mitral valve replacements. Would like to see some statistics.

 

[JulienDu]

One time I hit 3.3, too many beers during the weekend before a Tuesday blood test

Yeah it happens often for me during my weekly tests and too much wine or beer. My average is 2.6 but I got a 3.8 after going too hard on wine and few times above 3 because of beers and all. Was never really worry about that, usually ignore the result ( I mean, I do not adjust my dose ) and slow down on the wine and it goes back to normal.

So I have decided that low dose red wine will replace my low dose aspirin.

 

[epstns]

Yes I noticed not many with mitral valve replacements. Would like to see some statistics.

Martin, it seems that the active membership, when sorted by valve type, is a moving target. When I first started here (yeah, that long ago) it seemed that we had more mitral valve patients than aortic valvers. Lately it seems that there are far more aortic valve patients. I'm guessing that it may be because we (the baby boomers) are aging, and that aortic stenosis is a condition that usually makes itself known once patients are in their 50's and later, so we are just now seeing the pent-up demand for information from them.

There may be a "normal" quantity of mitral valve patients but a relative overload of aortic valve patients making it seem that the mix newly favors aortic valve patients.

Pellicle - do you have any real data for this?

 

[pellicle]

Pellicle - do you have any real data for this?

****, epstns I totally missed your question

sorry

Try this: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2446420/table/T2/

 

[Trinalovescats]

Hellooo ~waves~

I had Mitral Valve Replacement and Tricuspid Repair on May 3,2016.
You found a wonderful site and are not alone.There are not many outside this forum who understand the type of surgery that we have gone through.Most people I talk to think I had bypass or stents,.and I tell them I had MVR.

You found a great site,welcome to the club.

 

[carolinemc]

Martin, nothing wrong in diet change, greens are good for you, in moderation and timed. Everyday is a bit risky, but two to three time a week is good. And keep eating what you normally eat to keep protime good. Welcome to ther forum and ask all questions, no one is complete expert, but from experience comes wisdom and from surgery comes survival. Knowledge is the key to being smart about the health issues. I welcome you also here. Hugs for today.

 

[Cynthia_58]

Im an MVR recepient, before the surgery i had an abnormal heart beat, the surgeon said it will be corrected as soon if i have a surgery but unfortunately it wasn't up to now im dealing with this problem , good that im on warfarin lifetime medication for risk of blood clotting but so anxious about my Afib is there anybody here have the same situation as mine.

 

[MartinF]

Haven't had time to respond. Thanks everyone. Looks like mitral valve replacements were maybe 30% from 1999-2006 at one hospital.
Trinalovescats, you're right, everyone thinks I had a bypass when I tell them I had OHS.
carolinemc, I still eat other vegies and occasional salad. I try to eat healthy and am motivated to stay in shape for the next OHS. Also have to keep up with my grandkids who don't realize my wife and I are grandparents and not their parents age.
Cynthia_58, I'm lucky that I don't have Afib. Did lots of very long distance running for years and have heard this can increase chances of Afib.
Everyone stay healthy!

 

[OzChrissy]

I'm a Mitral Valve recipient also. I am beginning a new learning curve and must admit I already know 200% more about valves than I did 3 days ago thanks to this group. I have both metal and bovine in my valve, it is like a stent except that the middle is the valve. I have learned one thing from Pellicle that has assisted me greatly, I would post the graph if I knew how to, but it is a graph that shows the risk levels of INR. The risk is great under 2, then becomes safe between 2 and 4.5. Yes 4.5, then it rises again.. This has given me a great sense of security at the moment. I am high, I am starting to read all the information that Chris has provided me, and also using a graph with his help. How lucky am I. I see my Surgical team next month so I want to be full bottle and have sensible questions to ask them, and after joining this group, I have plenty. I honestly didn't give a thought to how long the bovine valve would last for instance, so that is also a question I will have. Through experience though, I have an ICD and on insertion they advised me that my leads would only last 10 years, it is now nearly 11 years, but they are still going extremely well. Hope this is the case with this, as it is a new valve and I would suppose they have done their research on it pretty well.

 

[pellicle]

... I have learned one thing from Pellicle that has assisted me greatly, I would post the graph if I knew how to, but it is a graph that shows the risk levels of INR. The risk is great under 2, then becomes safe between 2 and 4.5. Yes 4.5, then it rises again.. .

as it happens I post this here a lot ... here it is again

The groups in the study are:

Figure.
International normalized ratio (INR) specific incidence rates. Rates are shown for patients with a mechanical heart valve (A), atrial fibrillation (B), and myocardial infarction (C). Dashed lines indicate 95% confidence intervals.

I have only shown group A ...

The full text of the study is here:
http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/arti...ticleid=415179

 

[ejc61]

Hello Martin,

My mitral valve was a repair not even a replacement. Even lower on the totem pole.

 

[gerrychuck]

Haven't been on this board for a while! I saw this thread and thought I should chime in, as I am a mitral valve guy too; had replacement with a mechanical valve nearly 4 years ago (anniversary will be Oct. 20). I am curious about how many mitral valvers have reduced cardiac function, i.e. reduced ejection fraction, etc. My reading indicates that cardiac function, particularly left ventricular function, is affected more profoundly with mitral valve replacement due to removal of the chordae and papillary muscles. My EF has been just under 50 since my surgery, and has been fairly stable. Just wondering if others have had similar experience. Welcome to the board, Martin; this is a tremendous resource that has been absolutely invaluable to me since my surgery, particularly in the early days when I truly didn't know anything.

 

[David W]

Hey welcome to the forum!!