How much difference can valve type make in athletic performance?

[ALCapshaw2]

MY appologies Ski Girl -

I probabably over-reacted to your comment about "Bleeding Out" if you were on Coumadin.

If you severed an artery, this is probably true. Might also be true 'even if' you are not on coumadin.

Unfortunately there are a Lot of Myths about the dangers of being on Coumadin that are still being passed around, even by the Medical Community. For most cuts, Pressure and Time work, just as for people not on Coumadin. It just takes Longer. As someone pointed out, internal injuries may be a concern.

We have MANY members on Coumadin whose definition of Active Lifestyles goes WAY BEYOND 'walking about'. Have you browsed around in the Active Lifestyles Forum? You should find many cyclists, runners, and a few Triathlon participants.

And YES, the Porcine Tissue Valves are often the Valve of Choice by the dedicated athletic types because they offer very Low Pressure Gradients (definitely lower than the Bovine Tissue Valves).

I have no problem with people making an Informed Decision.

I just hope that that decision is based on an *accurate* understanding of the reality of living with / on Coumadin. FYI, several of our younger female members have (wisely) chosen Bovine Pericardial Tissue Valves to bear children. That is a Good Choice for that purpose.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Philip B]

Plans

Plans

It's good to hear that you've got plans to continue pursuing your competitive activities. There's no bad choice when you need your valve replaced. While I gave up whitewater kayaking long before my AVR surgery, my mechanical valve and coumadin use has never stopped me from doing what I want to do.

Cycling is my primary interest now. Despite some really bad crashes and injuries (broken bones, cuts and even a TBI) while riding in places far away from any kind of medical assistance, I'm still here and doing pretty well.

Hope your recovery and rehab goes as well as mine did. Good luck with your plans to continue competitive kayaking.

I didn't believe the earth was really flat until I moved to south central Arizona in June.

-Philip

 

[dtread]

I think you have to factor in the reops with tissue valves as part of the overall training package. It takes months to recover from the surgery, particularly to get back to a competitive level. Not sure whether they perform at high level of functionality at the end of their lifecycle either.

In regards mechanicals, I've never seen anything on how Warfarin/Coumadin might affect athletic performance. Don't think any studies have ever been conducted.