New member

shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
Valve Replacement Forums

Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
K

Kristy

Hi everyone,

I feel like I know you all since I have been lurking on this site for months now! I have learned so much from everyone, I thank you. I was born with aortic stenosis and have been told by my cardiologist that I now need to have it replaced. I am going in for a heart catherization this Tuesday (4/23) and from there I will need to make the decision of when to have my aorta replaced and with what. I don't think I want a mechanical valve because of the Coumadin and I am pretty active and have two kids that keep me pretty busy. But I shall see what is offered! I have a great husband who is very supportive and a supportive family so I feel very lucky, however, they have no idea what it's like to know you have to have this major surgery done and all of you know and can relate! I worry about my kids, who will take care of them and do all the day to day stuff I do, how long my recovery will be, how bad will the actual surgery be, all that stuff. I am now at the point that I can't wait for it to just be over, I have actually known that I will have to have the surgery since October and I wanted to wait until May so school will just about be over. I am going to college now (taking microbiology) and waiting to hear if I've been accepted into the Nursing program. I hope I will be ready to be in the program in September. I didn't really tell anyone in October, other than my immediate family, about the upcoming surgery, so now I've told my part-time employer and word just seems to have spread. Most people have been very supportive and very inquisitive! Well, I have to go study for a test on Wednesday, I'm hoping while I'm laying still for six hours after the heart catherization on Tuesday I will be able to study! Thanks for listening and I will keep you posted on my upcoming doctor visits!!
 
Welcome Kristy! You will receive so much support here that we will seem like family in no time! lol

How old are you? I didn't have to have a valve replacement... my surgeon was able to repair my mitral. But, he and I did discuss this at great length. He recommended a mechanical to me since I am still relatively young (49). The fact that mechanicals last longer than tissue valves made my choice for me! I didn't like the idea of surgery again down the road to replace the tissue valve when needed. The thought of taking Coumadin didn't bother me... I still have to take heart meds (and others! lol).

Just something to consider... again, welcome to the group!

Take care,
Zazzy
 
Hi Kristy and welcome!

You'll find most of us have been or are in the same boat, so you know your in the right place. I've found that you can talk to other people who have never experienced heart problems and they just don't understand what thoughts are running through your mind. That is one huge reason why I joined here. Heart patients can relate to Heart patients. ;)

Please let us know what they find after your catheterization.
Everyone recovers at different rates, which makes things a bit generalized, but you could expect to be out of commission from 6 weeks or 8 weeks, possibly longer but usually not.

I'm about to have my aortic valve replaced myself. I'm just waiting for a surgery date. I'm already on Coumadin, thanks to a blood clot that they found in the apex of my heart, during the catheterization. They say I had a heart attack at some time, but I'll be darned if I know when that would have been. I had no symptoms to speak of. Anyhow, the surgeon wants to use a mechanical valve, which is fine with me, but I've already had repairs made to the aortic root, so I may or may not end up with the mechanical valve. It's kind of wait and see thing once the surgeon is in there.

Your kids and spouse will manage just fine while you recover. The whole thing may even make you a tighter knit family. If you have more questions, just ask away, we'll answer them. :)
 
Welcome, Kristy - With all that you are doing, children, husband, school, house, parttime job - how'd you even find the time to lurk! We are glad you did, as there is support and information here for you. Hope all goes well with your angio - just keep us posted, please. We are here for you. God bless
 
Welcome Kristy

Welcome Kristy

Kristy....what a cool name! :D

You've found the right place!

I had AVR last June. I have 3 children ages 8-14. You didn't say what ages your kids are, but even the youngest of kids can help out while you're recuperating. My 8 year old sorted all the laundry while the oldest one ran the washer & dryer and the middle one folded and put away the clothes. Granted, it wasn't the way I would have done it, but that's ok. All of them have been able to load and unload the dishwasher since they were about 4. There's lots that they can do. You have the time, make up charts for the laundry sorting/washing/drying, show them how to take care of the dishes.

Make sure that you accept help from friends and family. We didn't have to cook a meal for 2 weeks because friends wanted to help. We just had a calendar with us, and when someone offerd to bring a meal, we let them know what night would be good.

As for the type of valve...I have a mechanical and take coumadin. I still chase after my 3 kids and lead a fairly active lifestyle. I've never been one into sports...(might have something to do with the fact that with the congenital aortic stenosis I could never keep up!...LOL), but now I love to bike, hike, lift weights, do aerobics, jog, swim...anything non contact. The coumadin doesn't interfere with that for me. I look at it as taking a vitamin for my blood. That way it doesn't freak me out ;)

Whatever choice you make, it will be the right choice for you.

Take care and keep us informed!
 
Last edited:
hi kristy!
welcome to this site. everyone here is just so supportive and informative. we will hold your hand through this as others here have done for us. this is a very scary time, we understand.
you are young and have many choices. also, i see you are into fitness, so that's another big plus. in fact, joey's cardio (my husband is the patient) is a marathon runner and is convinced that joey's years of running and biking were why he never needed to have the surgery sooner.

there are many others here who have little kids and have been through this; i'm sure they will come forward and give some advice (our kids are teens). you mention a great supportive family... use them!!!
you will most likely be tired the first few weeks after the surgery and extra helping hands go a long way.

please let us know how the cath goes tomorrow. we look forward to hearing from you.
be well,
sylvia
 
Study time

Study time

Hi Kristy,

Welcome aboard! Since you said you have been lurking for a few months, you know how much information is available at this site. However, now that you are a member, you will also be able to experience the personal support of your new friends here.

You have a lot going for you. Your age, your fitness, and your supportive family will all contribute to a much smoother and quicker recovery. When the cardiologist tells you it's time to consider surgery, just find yourself an excellent surgeon in a good hospital, decide on the type of valve that feels right for you, and schedule the surgery.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned it yet, but we all feel that the waiting is the hardest part. The surgery isn't really a big deal. Any pain in managed very well and the recovery period usually gets better every day. You will probably feel as good as new in 6 weeks or so.

By the way, I wouldn't count on using the 6 hours following your heart catheization to study for an exam. The sedative they gave me kept me in a twi-light zone for most of the time that I had to lay still. What little I do remember was the discomfort of not being able to move my right leg. It was awful when the pins and needles started in my thigh and calf muscles. :) I don't think I would have been able to study for a microbiology exam that night.

Good luck with the catherization on Tuesday and with the exam on Wednesday.

I'll be looking for your post that tells us how they went.

Ron K
 
Hi Kristy-

Nice to meet you. You'll enjoy being a member of this wonderful site. We are a very nice group of friends with a common bond. We understand what this is all about.

Youth is a good thing to have on our side. If you haven't read through some of the older posts, please check out one by Peter Easton, "Making the Choice". It discusses the various types of valves in detail. It's extremely informative.

The more you know about this surgery, the more comfortable you will be with all the aspects of it Talk about studying for an exam, this is the ultimate.

Speaking of which, I would plan to study for your exam prior to or after the cath. You'll be seepy and will also be required to be flat on your back. Here's a good description of that test.

http://www.bwh.partners.org/patient/cardiac_cath.asp
 
Welcome Kristy,
I chose a mechnical valve because I think for me, having another surgery in the future was unacceptable. Theoritcally, I would need 3 more in my lifetime. I too was concerned about coumiden, but as people on this site have mentioned, it's no big deal, and after 8 weeks, it hasn't been. I'm told I can resume all my softball games and golf just as before.
My cath was uneventful, my cardio uses the samllest probe she can so my recovery was very short, Cath @ 8:00, home by 1:30, but you will not study. Good drugs make the procedure pleasant, but they do not promote memory retention for sure!
Good luck!
carbo
 
Welcome Kristy,

Glad you found us! We are here to help and support. You bet!
I personally am 20 months post-op and also have a mechanical valve. That's what my surgeon recommended. He told me right of that tissue valves don't last as long as claimed and, you don't want to go through this surgery too many times if you don't have too. Each time will be worse because of scar tissue, plus you will be older, and Coumadin is a piece of cake". Well, that's not exactly true for everyone, but once you've found a doctor who knows how to regulate Coumadin and once it is stable, there is nothing to it. It can take a bit of time to get to that point. It also can be scary for the patient at first, because this is something new for him/her and many things interfere with Coumadin, like foods, and OTC meds.
I do everything I did before the surgery. Very active, work and exercise. It takes a while to get to that point though, and they told me that it takes about a year, which it does.
I am happy with the mechanical as I NEVER want to go through this again, although the actual surgery is not bad at all, it's the waiting that's the worst of all.
Hope you come back often, and with lots of questions so we may help you through this.
Stay strong and you will be fine.

Christina
Congenital Aortic Stenosis
AVR's 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
St.Jude's Mechanical
 
Welcome

Welcome

Hi Kristy,

welcome and let me echo the sentiments you've already read here - this is the best source of information and support on the web for anyone facing heart valve surgery.

I had a mechanical valve fitted in October 2000. I made the choice of mechanical over tissue valve because I felt it the most suitable one for me - I was 39 at the time and my wife and I have three lovely boys, then aged 8, 5 and 3. Whilst not the boy's mother, I play a very active part in the upbringing, as even my wife will admit that she is not the most domestic of women!! We both found the recovery period post surgery easier than expected and the boys were great. We did our best to inform them (in appropriate terms for their ages) what was happening, both before and after surgery, and tried to get them involved in my recuperation - doing small jobs, running errands they wouldn't normally do etc. They responded very well.

Now 18 monthe after surgery, it's almost as if the operation had never taken place (apart from taking the warfarin tablets and periodic blood tests, that is!). I still seem to spend most of my 'spare' time running round after the boys, taking them to sport, fetching them from Scouts or friends. Apart from avoiding contact sports, which has been hard as I used to play rugby, I can be as active as I like and am able to participate with the boys in many things - something I really treasure. I even 'ran' the London mararthon six months after my surgery - I started jogging to get fit again and sort of kept going.

So, you see, life with a young family needn't be that different after surgery. As has already been said, the waiting is by far the worst part. Look forward with relish to your continued family life afterwards.

Best wishes from England on St. Georges Day (our patron saint),

Simon
 
Welcome

Welcome

Kristy,

I have a daughter named Krysty.

Positive Mental Attitude is your best ally in your situation and we here at vr.com can help make sure that PMA is always present.

Best of luck with your Cath today. I think it's so cool that you're going into nursing. Will you be specializing in Cardiology? I sure had the greatest admiration for my Cardio nurses.

Cheers!
 
Last edited:
Catherization Results

Catherization Results

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all your support and help! The catherization was very long, 3.5 hours, my doctor couldn't find my vein,so that took over an hour, then my heart would beat way too fast everytime he went into the aorta, so that was a bit of a problem, but the best news is that my stenosis is only at 1.1, not half as bad as they expected. Apparently the echocardiogram and the tee made it seem much worse than it is, so now I may be able to postpone surgery for a few years!!! I am both happy and sad about this because I was already to go ahead and have the surgery and just be done with it. Now I feel like it will still be hanging over my head! However, I'm sure I'll get use to the idea of not having surgery soon and continue to enjoy life as it is!! I feel so lucky ! I guess I will contine to try to stay in the best shape that I can so when my day does come I'll be ready! I have a follow-up apppointment in three weeks and will keep you all posted! Thanks again everyone for the good wishes and support!
Kristy
 
Gee Kristy-

That's terrific news! Congratulations are in order. I hope the situation never changes and you can put off surgery forever.

Take care,
 
Congratulations Kristy!

As the old adage goes, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".
That is terrific news. Now, don't go leaving us cause your not having surgery. :)
 
Interesting information Kristy.

I can't help but wonder how many Catheterizations your Doctor performs per year. In our town, most (27) of the cardiologists are all in one group. They used to rotate duties, but now have groups specializing in the different areas for improved efficiency. There are typically 6 who mostly do cath's. An uneventful catheterization takes 20 MINUTES of procedure time, not counting preparation time by the assistants. Their 'incident' rate is the lowest in the state and they get many visitors (cardiologists) interested in learning / copying their methods. Our hospital typically performs 650* cath's per month.
(* I think that is the number I remember reading).

The basic rule for ALL Heart procedures is "The More They Do,
the BETTER They Are."

'AL'
 
Hi Kristy,

Good news about the cath results. I hope you go a long time before your cardiologist finally tells you it's time to consider surgery.

I was in that boat for about 4 years. One local cardiologist told me he thought my conditions was worsening quickly and I should start looking for a hospital that my insurance would cover. Well, I found the hospital I wanted and switched to a cardiologist there. He did an echo and said I just needed to be followed every six months with echos, and he'd let me know when it was time to prepare for surgery. I made it 4 years, but when he said it was time, I didn't delay.

There's a window of time that's optimum. I was told not to have the surgery too soon, but not to delay too long either.

I hope you have many years left in your valve and won't need the surgery for quite a while. When you do, don't worry. You'll do fine, just like we did.

Ron K
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top