CazicT;n880004 said:
Does anyone know why TAVR isn't recommended for "Low Risk" patients?
for the same reasons "life jackets" aren't worn immediately when you board a plane.
They are still quite (ten or more times) associated with risks. (
BTW, if you actually compare the numbers you've been researching and write them down in two columns, "TAVI" and "Regular OHS" this will become evident. Research is aimed at a target audience, doesn't usually pitch to "the public" ... so you have to think like a medico)
How old are you? They have much shorter lives. There is enough data existing to show that it lasts about 1/3 the time of a conventional tissue prosthesis (and a joke short time compared to a mechanical). Think 3~5 years and then if you wish a "valve in valve" (which will make your aortic aperture smaller again) that can be done once (to my knowledge), leaving you with a smaller aortic aperture (bad) and also needing vanilla OHS some years (and with more issues) down the track. The cost of kicking the can...
(importantly) No matter how good you think medical imaging is, when a surgeon get "in there" and "sees for him/herself" they may make a different decision.
I encourage you to verify all the points I've made. If you do find something contrary to what I've said please do post it. I confess that I have not looked this up in a serious manner for about 3 years. Then (if you are inclined) we could discuss your findings.
Lastly on psychology: by and large everyone who learns that they need surgery instantly goes into a blind panic (even if they put a blanket over it to conceal it from outside the car). Every possible angle is examined to avoid doing the surgery (or minimising it). TAVI was developed for a specific case group :
those who are so frail they would not survive a surgery which has excellent survival rates (
read that again).
It is my observation (
backed by others in discussions I've had), that people think with a tight tunnel vision to only the surgery (
and interestingly I just bumped into a fascinating man while out camping at Mt Perry in Queensland who was a pharmacist, MD, Psychiatrist and widely published in journals cardiac specialist)... ask yourself what you want to be doing in 20 years from now ... if you want to be doing anything or if you want to be increasingly visiting hospitals in perpetuation of your current condition or if you just want to be doing more or less what you're doing now.
My advice is that if you are not deemed high surgical risk to go with the literally called "gold standard". My wife always said "be careful what you ask for; you may just get it"
Best Wishes
