mechanical valve noise

[Paleowoman]

I realize this isn't exactly the same as I had my valve repaired not replaced but right after surgery I heard it a lot more then before but now 7 months later it's pretty much as quiet as before.

When our stenotic valves are repaired or replaced with tissue valves the new valve is working properly, as opposed to the stenotic one, the leaflets will be closing properly and 'crisply'. When stenotic the valve doesn't close properly or easily as we know. The consequence of this new and better closing is that the 'noise' is diffferent and our brains pick up that difference. Takes time for the brain to get used to the new 'noise'. Apparently when babies are born it takes them about six months to get used to their bodies' internal noises ! So it's something like that with us - though our brains might not get used to the mech valves as they have a totally unatural sound. A tissue valve also does have a 'murmur' but that is fine and called a flow murmur which is "found in nature" as a doctor put it in an exam when I was a patient (I'm used as a patient in the cardiac section of a doctors' exam when the docs want to get more qualifications and move up to specialist level).

 

[cldlhd]

Mine does seem 'crisper' but it wasn't stenotic it had trace leakage, the aneurysm was the cause for my surgery the repair was done while he was in there.

 

[pellicle]

Mine does seem 'crisper' but it wasn't stenotic it had trace leakage, the aneurysm was the cause for my surgery the repair was done while he was in there.

I wonder how much is contributed to by the change from a hose connector that was swollen and spongy to an inflexible bit of new Dacron tube. Seems to me that both play a factor

 

[cldlhd]

I wonder how much is contributed to by the change from a hose connector that was swollen and spongy to an inflexible bit of new Dacron tube. Seems to me that both play a factor

I was wondering that myself as it would seem the pipe would conduct sound kind of like a horn instrument. Maybe it's quieter due to a combo of the pericardial sac healing and the Dacron tube being coated by the endothelia , assuming that' s happened.

 

[Boomanchu]

Im almost 9 months out and am still very aware of the clicking but it's different now. It's just another sound my body makes and according to my girlfriend that's a long list

 

[Paul Schur]

I'm 53, for me it was two noises to deal with, internal, which sounded like a wind up watch ticking that went away after 4 days, and the external clicking. I'm 16 months post surgery and I don't even notice it. I was on a sleeping med at first because the THOUGHT of it made me so aware of it. The reality is I occasionally hear it, once a week in a quiet room, but I mostly don't hear it. I sleep with a fan on and I have no issues. When I travel I use a white noise app. Best part? I'll never need that surgery again and that occasional click I hear reminds me of that, which I find comforting.

 

[ForeverThankful]

I'm 55 and just 3 1/2 weeks post surgery. I haven't heard any external clicking yet and I have very good hearing but I have sort of felt/heard an internal clicking once and a while that's hard to explain. I heard it more when I was in the hospital and less now. It really doesn't bother me at all.

 

[cinconinos]

I only notice it if I'm concentrating on it or its very quiet. However, my kid's think it's the coolest. I call it my new party trick!

 

[AlaJim]

All.

One of the most comforting sounds I hear is my St Jude MV. I can hear it either thumping through my chest or as some have mentioned, through my mouth. I also hear it through my arteries directly in my ears. There, it's a high pitched clicking sound. In all cases, I'm thankful for it because it's keeping me alive. It, like my scar, remind me there's work yet to be done on this Earth and I'm thankful to be included in the workforce. Enjoy the sound while you and others can still hear it!

Alabama Jim

 

[harrietW]

Hmm l sure hope they can synchroniz two valves to click together in unison as l have a feeling two new mechanical valve out of sync might just drive me insane.

 

[QuincyRunner]

In a beating heart the first sound you hear is the closure of the mitral and tricuspid valves and the second sound you hear is the closure of the aortic and pulmonary valves. That synchronization cannot be altered.

 

[harrietW]

QuincyRunner that's great .. so now hoping to purr like kitten .. lol ! the whole idea of hearing my mechanical vales through my mouth sounds kind of crazy but l will take it. Also mentioned is hear it in your ears .. that l can relate to as l have heard that fir 35 yrs a very loud heart beat. Either way l will be blessed to hear the beating of my heart however that may sound from here on out. 8 days and counting to double Valve replacement. A miracle in the making.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

the whole idea of hearing my mechanical vales through my mouth sounds kind of crazy but l will take it.

I don't hear it like that, just so you don't get disappointed.

 

[cldlhd]

Hi



I don't hear it like that, just so you don't get disappointed.

Does it drown out the voices in your head?

 

[pellicle]

Does it drown out the voices in your head?

Fortunately no ...

 

[cldlhd]

Fortunately no ...

That's good to know because that would be a real problem for me, ha!

 

[Warrick]

I'm at 8 weeks post surgery with my St Jude and I'm sure its gotten louder, it thumps when I lay down, I've had to get sleeping pills from the doc as I was lying in bed for hours with the ticking not able to get to sleep, I'm planning on going back to work in a week so can't be awake till 3 in the morning and then go to work at 7am

 

[pellicle]

Hi

I'm at 8 weeks post surgery with my St Jude and I'm sure its gotten louder, it thumps when I lay down,

I reckon it took a bit to settle for me too. I suspect that my previous scar tissue exacerbates it and that I have the aortic graft really brings the thump closer up my throat.

I suspect that as the swelling goes down it reduces the drum like nature and beds in better. At first I couldn't sleep on my left side, but now its quieter its OK either way.

I think it was a few months before I got good sleeps.

 

[Boomanchu]

At one year this coming Tuesday I've become pretty accustomed to the clicking in my chest and mouth but another resulting sound for me is the clicking in my sinuses. I have a deviated septum and tight drainage openings in my sinuses and over the course of my life I would get a click going in them when I was stuffed up and it's been there since surgery. At first I thought I was just stuffed up from allergies as we adopted a kitten after I got home from the surgery. It took some time to realize it's just an echo from the click I have to live with. I'm a regular rhythm section now but I've gotten pretty used to that too.

 

[Tez23]

Hi folks, first post (of many I hope). I had a mechanical aortic valve fitted in 1996. There were always occasions when the beat certainly feels more noticeable, particularly so when I lay in bed and was feeling a little anxious perhaps, and then it was like a drum banging into the mattress! Most of the time I'm not conscious of it, although anyone who is sat in close proximity can apparently hear the clicking, but that's something I can't generally hear. All that said, I underwent surgery to replace my ascending aorta and arch in June and I'm probably more conscious of the sensation of my heart beating in my chest now than I was before this latest surgery.