hey crystal! i can't believe you just posted that! my husband, joey, is scheduled for avr on this wed., 9/12. i just got home from a day at the hospital having a cath done. they insisted he stay overnight. it seems his valve diam. has gone from .6 in july to .4 today!! good news ,all his vessels are clear!!!!
joey has had bouts with a-fib in the past and has usually converted on his own within 48 hours. he was cardiovered once, 6 yrs ago, when he didn't come out of the fib on his own. well, wouldn't it be just the time for this to happen? he went into fib 2 days ago and they have put him on lovenex (how do you spell it?), because coumadin would not work with the upcoming surgery date (too soon). tonight they will be teaching him to administer the shots to himself and he will do so until the day before the surgery. ( he would need to be taken off coumadin 3 days prior to surgery, which would give him 2 days on it). that's what makes this the blood thinner of choice in our case.
what a surprise it was for me to see your thread, just after having learned about this myself.
i don't really know much about it, but the dr who did the cath thinks it's a great alternative for cases like ours.
sorry i couldn't give you more info about it. i hope it helps to know that there's someone in your mother's exact same boat.
good luck! when is your mother's surgery?
hope all goes well.
-sylvia