My journey through AVR started over 10 years ago now, in 2014, and was needed because of severe stenosis. I don't know why I haven't thought to post this sooner, but a search of past topics doesn't seem to suggest this has been discussed, so here goes, perhaps of interest to those in the waiting room, or indeed simply for some of those who wonder why they needed a valve replaced.
After my operation, my surgeon described my diseased valve as being "as white as a piece of cauliflower", and said that it was now thought (by 2014) that the combination of insulin and statins causes calcification. By 2014 I had been on insulin for 8 years and statins for over 20 years, owing to a strong family history of cardiac issues. So this certainly seemed plausible, and some amateur Googling finds that even statins on their own are likely to cause calcification, as does insulin resistance. So as is often the case in medicine it seems, we solve one problem but cause another!
After my operation, my surgeon described my diseased valve as being "as white as a piece of cauliflower", and said that it was now thought (by 2014) that the combination of insulin and statins causes calcification. By 2014 I had been on insulin for 8 years and statins for over 20 years, owing to a strong family history of cardiac issues. So this certainly seemed plausible, and some amateur Googling finds that even statins on their own are likely to cause calcification, as does insulin resistance. So as is often the case in medicine it seems, we solve one problem but cause another!
