Life after Mechanical Valve --- 31 years old

[Dcano1007]

@vitroc
I do cycle from time to time. I will be doing it more often in the next few months. As soon as my daughter is able to sit in a carrier she will be my little cycling resistance partner.

 

[thomas999]

I had my St Jude aortic valve prosthesis surgery Dec 1987, will be 32 years ago this Dec. I have done everything I wanted to do: softball, golfing, shoot pistol at the range, travel, etc. I have been on two African safaris, swam with dolphins in Bimini, Whales in the Azores, Alaska for dog sledding and northetn lights, NZ/Aust. for 35 days, etc I may sound like I'm grandstanding, but I feel I have earned it somewhat, and also feel my story will be an encouragement to others. I feel as long as my activities were within reason, I should be able to do what I want even though I have had major surgery. I can't say that it hasn't been on my mind because the surgery is always on my mind and a concern of mine. It's amazing how much I think of my surgery when doing things and that people don't realize the courage it often takes to accomplish these types of things because of apprehensions the surgery has caused me. Still I go on despite some of the fears it has caused. If it's my time to go then it is my time to go, but 32 years later things seem just fine.

 

[pellicle]

Reason why soccer is a no go is head injuries, a lot of heading hard balls and occasionally a head butt while going for a ball, my surgeon Is also a footy, he told me that day that it would be wise to stop playing. To add to the risk, I was was a goal keeper!

just as an aside:

• warfarin does not cause bleeds, but it exacerbates them
• as we age our blood vessels become less "flexible" (as does our skin), but unlike the wrinkles clearly visible the blood vessels are less obvious. So the effects of impacts become more significant in causing the unwated IC bleed.

Fun reading on this in a detailed way here, it may be a bit "pithy" but the short answer is that age is a scalar in many injury assessments of accident likeliness to lead to death.

Age was coded as a categorical variable at five levels (0–14, 15–24, 25–64, 65–79, and 80+).​

but I've seen other scales where the 25-64 is split at 45. A bit more discussion relating to age and head injuries on my blog post about motorcycle helmets (yes I still ride). However I've given up martial arts and probably would at 55 scale back my soccer if I was a goalie ... that's a young blokes game.

Ultimately I take a different view of the well known phrase: Glory is temporary and being crippled is forever.

 

[tom in MO]

Recent studies indicate people shouldn't be doing headers anyway. Some believe it's time for the sport to change.

 

[pellicle]

Recent studies indicate people shouldn't be doing headers anyway. Some believe it's time for the sport to change.

similar is emerging with rugby and the effect of multiple (and compounding) small concussions ... its common knowledge in boxing but somehow the other contact sports have managed to avoid this particular scrutiny

 

[Dcano1007]

That day will never come, some of the prettiest goals come from a nice header into the bottom corner of the goal.

 

[tom in MO]

It starts with parents deciding the risk is inappropriate for their children. https://www.theringer.com/2017/4/25/16041684/us-soccer-header-ban-concussions-4805684f63ca

But when it comes to the pros, if boxing is any indication, there will be no substantive changes.

 

[Protimenow]

Reduction in risks of concussion, and checks of any players who've had head collisions (helmet to helmet, helmet to ground) are supposedly reducing the risks of concussion in American football. There have been some broadly publicized deaths of players - and former players - who've been damaged by concussions.

I'm not sure how effective the new procedures have been, but at least, in the United States, the risks have been noted and some steps have been made to reduce them.

However - I can't see a person taking in his right mind, taking warfarin, playing a contact sport that involves a high risk of concussion (and possible brain bleeds) - if they do, their right mind may be gone in one good hit.