No Coumadin for 30 years

[Guest]

I thought that all of you might be as startled by this as I was.

The Journal of Heart Valve Disease July 2000 pages 548-549 reports the case of a man who had a Bjork-Shiley valve implanted 30 years ago and has managed to live without any type of anticoagulation for 30 years.

The report is from Turkey. I have only seen the abstract, not read the entire article. I can imagine that the person was a young man from a remote area. He had his valve implanted and went home. He probably did not understand the need for anticoagulation and never requested more medication. He probably never went to a doctor during all of this time either.

Bjork-Shiley valves were more likely to produce clots than the St. Jude or Medtronics that are used today, so that makes this even more amazing.

 

[LUVMyBirman]

Wow.....wow.....and wow again! That is incredible. Did they mention which position the valve was in by chance?

There was a young man on another forum back a year or so ago that said he had gotten tired of taking his Coumadin so did not do so for 12 years. Believe he was 16 or so at the time of his surgery making him mid twenties.

That's insane as far as I am concerned!

 

[Christina]

That is an unbelievable story! 30 years? Who were the people that operated on him? They must have told him that he needs to take some kind of blood thinner, and he just ignored it? Hard to imagine!

Yes Gina, I remember a post from someone telling us that he went without taking blood thinners for 11 or 12 years. I don't think he mentioned any problems during all those years. I certainly would never want to take a risk like that. That is plain dumb stupidity!

So you with mechanicals, take your Coumadin, you hear?

Christina
Aortic Stenosis
AVR 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
St. Jude's Mechanical
Coumadin, 19 mg a day.

PS.. I am a seasoned member now I see. Am I gonna get a price Hank?

 

[Guest]

I have a young man who come to my clinic that had mechanical valves placed when he was about 18. No matter what his test showed, he kept taking the same dose of warfarin that he had been on when he was 18. Three years ago on Labor Day weekend he and his wife went fishing in a remote spot in the mountains. He had a stroke up there. By the time she got him out, got a helicopter to pick him up and argued with the flight paramedics about where to take him, and they had to stop to refuel because the flight was so long, he lost the use of his entire left side of his body. Today, he can barely drive has to use a voice recognition computer.

You are right, Christina. If you have a mechanical valve do not skimp on the Coumadin. Better to have a bloody nose than a stroke.

 

[McCln]

It does not suprise me that in this day and age that people still do not take proper care of themselves. That they are played russian roulette with their lives everyday. And in the remote places , it is understandable that they would not be medicated like the one man did. He was in a remote place that the medicine could not get to him all the time. But for others, who are able to get so kind of care, they are just cheating themselves by not caring for their health. It is sad day for people like that, not caring for themselves proper.