Is it safe to fly?

[EireCara]

Hi All, I was wondering, does anyone know if it is safe to fly with mv regurg, its diagnosed 'moderate' but with LOTS of symptoms. Im thinking the answer will be 'yes', but just wanted to make sure. It would be a 45 minute flight to England!!!!

 

[PegB]

I guess "ignorance is bliss", but I had severe regurgitation, and I flew 12 hours to Hawaii before my surgery. I never thought to ask if it was OK or not.
(I don't think they could have stopped me though) A 45 minute flight shouldn't be any different than riding in a car. Just don't go carrying a lot of heavy bags.

 

[Ross]

Commercial Airlines, absolutely. Private Aircraft, low altitude only. So long as your in a pressurized aircraft, you should be fine.

 

[sue943]

I live in Jersey, Channel Islands, and they do not do any cardiac surgery in Jersey, we have no real option other than to fly. I had to fly to England to have my OHS, this was the day before my surgery. I travelled alone, just a lift to the airport then I was handed over to the staff there to provide me with a wheelchair. They wheeled me through to the 'plane and I was able to walk up the steps myself. I was met the other end at Gatwick in my case, by a buggy and driven through to my taxi. You do need to arrange with the airline in advance that you require assistance and they are brilliant. When I was returning to Jersey I even needed to have the wheelchair winched up to the plane as I couldn't walk due to a panic attack, not good to leave the hospital in order to travel hundreds of miles alone an hour after a person in the next bay had a cardiac arrest!

I had both mitral and aortic regurgitation. So don't worry about flying to England, as I said, if you need a wheelchair let them know in advance, and it is well worth checking just how far you need to walk, a wheelchair is the easy option especially if there is a long walk to and from the 'planes.

 

[Debrinha GT]

In my case...

In my case...

I live in Brazil and back in 1995 I had a ticket to fly to Britain to visit my ex-husband's parents, but when I went for a check up, the echo showed that there was a significant rupture on my tissue mitral valve and I needed to get it replaced within a couple of weeks. I wasn't allowed to go on the plane then.
Débora

 

[EireCara]

Thank you.......

Thank you.......

Thank you Peg, Ross, Sue and Debora for your replies 8)

* I have 3 clefts in the anterior mv leaflet. I have read about what ''clefts'' mean and it has been described as ''tears'' or ''folds''. I had an echo done about 15 years ago which showed only 'mild' MV regurgation and mild prolapse, and an echo done less than 3 years ago which they said was ''fine'' but the echo I had a few weeks ago showed 'moderate regurgation' and that was the 1st I had heard about the ''clefts''. Could they possibly have ''appeared'' in such a short time, or would they have always been there just not noticeable ???

 

[sue943]

If you are 'moderate' then the flying between Ireland and England ought to be fine. I was at a more advanced stage, when surgery within days was considered to be vital, lets put it this way, three weeks earlier I was told my surgery needed to be within the next couple of weeks at the latest, I was considered fit to fly to England on a commercial aircraft, the alternative would have been for the hospital to charter a 'plane like they did for me when I had endocarditis.

 

[sue943]

EireCara

You mentioned in one of your other threads about perhaps moving to England for your treatment...

"I'm thinking about moving to England as at least I would have my sister there and a fresh start ''medically''

Have you checked to find out the situation as to the reciprocal arrangements with the NHS? I know that once you become a resident you will be covered by the NHS but what is the position if you move to England, and presumably cannot work and are in need of very expensive medical care almost immediately? I know that when I was rushed into hospital in Sheffield due to heart block I later received a letter asking me to complete a form which was about my entitlement to free treament under the NHS. We have a reciprocal arrangement so my emergency care was covered. One of the questions was asking if the purpose of my visit to the UK was for medical treatment.

Is this why you are asking about flying, to move to England? I would think it is very important to find out the situation before thinking of moving.

 

[EireCara]

Thank you Sue

Thank you Sue

Thank you Sue for your thoughtful comments. Yes I am planning a move to England, hopefully in April....assuming my ''valve'' holds out til then !! (One minute I feel like my health issues are 'urgent' and the next I feel ''Im ok, 'that' was just a little blip and Im fine now. Dont know whether Im in denial or just plain stupid.) The reason Iv picked April is because my kids school term is finished in April, and they can start a new school in September which is the beginning of the school year. They will both be taking A levels.