Question on valve types and sounds

[amy00]

I have some newbie questions. Due to regurgitation I will have AVR surgery. What are the types of mechanical valves and which one is the best? I have seen on-x, St Jude in this forum.
Besides I have read stories saying that the clicking of the mechanical valve makes sleeping a problem, even the person sleeps next to you can hear it. Is the sound that loud? In a normal environment, does the clicking bother too? Do your family hear it? I'm wondering if different types of valves sound different.

 

[Resqrn]

Amy,
I am a newbie here so hope this goes well. I had a Carbomedics Top Hat aortic valve placed in 8/05. I do hear the clicking, my family is able to hear it also. They have gotten used to it and can hear it if the try. I hear it all the time and it is very reasuring to me that it is clicking, and working. So I actually enjoy it now, I will say in the beginning that it was a bit bothersome for a while, but you get used to it rather quickly. My surgery was an emergent one and I had no choice what was implanted in me, so i got to wake up with the mechanical valve and the dacron grafts (ascending aorta replaced). Hopefully this info will help. Mike

 

[Magic8Ball]

There is no 'best valve', i have st-jude and i've heard of the on-x but not really any other mechanical ones.

As tissue was not a consideration for me i have no knowlege of those.

Whichever one you choose will be right for you.

As for the ticking of a mechanical, in normal life you can't really hear or notice it but in a quiet room you can, sounds like a watch ticking.

It can be a little wierd to start with but you just learn to process it out and after a while just don't notice it.

Once in a hospital room when my wife was in a nurse walked in and said 'thats a loud watch' to me....others have said the same...its kinda funny...i always wear a watch with hands to allow this comment to be made and allow me to choose to correct them if i want to.

 

[aussigal]

In the normal noisy world I dont hear my valve clicking away...I hear it in the bathroom, at night in bed and early in the morning when all is quiet....my hubby hears it when we cuddle....nobody else says they hear it...its not as annoying as you imagine and hardly ever keeps me awake, its soothing steady click puts me to sleep.

 

[geebee]

Usually my valve is very quiet. I can hear it if I really try sometimes and other times I cannot even if I try. I think it sounds differently (more muffled) to me than to others who do indicate they hear it by mentioning the "loud watch" scenario (pretty funny sometimes when it's someone who does not know about my surgery).

I have a St. Jude (almost 14 years now) and I think it is great. It replaced my old Bjork-Shiley valve which was VERY noisy so I think the newer valves are quieter. The On-X is also a good choice from what I have read. There are other vavles but the St. Jude and the On-X are the ones that seem to be used a lot (or at least among our members).

 

[lance]

The clicking never bothered me

The clicking never bothered me

hello Amy,

Following my valve replacement surgery I could take my pulse by listening to the ticking/clicking sounds of my mechanical valve and the rhythmic clicks at night lulled me to sleep.

The sound was never a problem. Now I can't hear them and miss the sound.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

All Mechanical Valves click to some degree. The level that escapes your body is probably more dependent on your body characteristics than the valve, i.e. how big is your chest, how much muscle etc.

The St. Jude Valves are the Gold Standard for Durability, having been around for 30 years. See www.sjm.com for more information.

The On-X Valves offer several technical improvements that result is a lower propensity to produce clots or damage blood cells. See www.onxvalves.com and www.heartvalvechoice.com for more information. They were introduced to the World Market in 1996 and have over 50,000 valves implanted in patients now.

The ATS and Carbomedics Valves are spinoffs of the St. Jude Valves.

ALL 4 of those valves were designed by Jack Bokros, Ph.D. who created the Pyrolytic Carbon Material used in the leaflets (for an application in the Nuclear Power Industry) and has been designing Heart Valves ever since.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Karlynn]

Many people are concerned when they hear that a mechanical valve makes a clicking noise. My guess is that the click is going to be much quieter than you might perceive it to be. We don't walk around clicking like old fashioned alarm clocks. I can hear mine at night sometimes, and when I'm in a quiet tiled room. My husband can hear it occasionally at night. We've never found it to be bothersome or even slightly distracting.

 

[Cooker]

I only hear my St Jude under certain conditions………..one is when I lay on my left side…….we won’t discuss the others

PS: the best valve is the one you and your surgeon decide is best for you.

 

[Bad Mad]

As nearly all of the previous contributors have said the clicking shouldn't be much of an issue, unless you are really easily irritated by clicking sounds.

Even at that, I guess because it is part of you, you learn to live with it and even love it.

My fiance had an old clock in her house that really irritated her (to the point of keeping her awake sometimes) by it's constant ticking.
It was in her parents house, so not much she could do! But the valve noise doesn't bother her in the slightest....or so she says

I've only had my mechanical valve (ATS) less than 6 weeks, and already the only time I am really conscious of it, is when I am in bed at night, when all is quiet. Sure, if you stop for a minute during the day, you can hear it.

Beacuse there seems little difference between the noise levels of the newer mechanical valves, it shouldn't be a significant factor when choosing which type to go for.

 

[shenews]

I don't click

I don't click

I had a St. Jude mechanical valve installed 7 weeks ago, and I don't click any. I only feel my heart beating more so than I have in the past, but I don't hear anything...of course, that might be because I have more insulation than most folks!

 

[Bina]

The first few weeks post op I thought I would lose my mind....we had various ticking clocks around the house and it was crazy trying to follow my own heart rhythm with all that tic toc going on. So we took down 3 or 4 clocks and I immediately began to relax and enjoy my own "beat". I never hear any ticking, just a low level thumping. (I am short and thin). It is more noticeable in front of glass or mirror.

 

[njean]

Hi Amy,

Only thing I can add with my two mechanical valves, is that I can never "nick-up" on my doggies!

 

[Philip B]

Acoustics

Acoustics

Hi Amy,

You've probably gathered that there are several different mechanical valve choices out there. Body acoustics play a large role in how noticable the clicking noises are. The clicking volume varies among individuals.

I can hear my St. Jude valve click when I go to bed, but my wife cannot hear it unless she puts her ear on my chest. Like you, one of my concerns prior to surgery was valve noise. As a high school principal, I really did not want to have students, parents, and community members hear me clicking when I visited with them. Valve noise has been a non-issue.

You'll see a lot of posts here which mention the St. Jude and On-X because both valves have excellent track records.

-Philip

 

[Rich]

I have had my St. Jude for well over eleven years.
I never hear anything. The only time i'm aware of anything is when sleeping om my stomach, and then it is a thumping noise which i think is common for anybody, valve replacement or not.
In addition I am and always have been on the thin side, no extra insulation at all.
Why some hear their valves, I don't know.
Rich

 

[amy00]

Thank you for the response

Thank you for the response

Hi, Thank you all for the response. They are very informative and helpful. Wish you all happy and healthy!

-Amy

 

[Susan BAV]

Hi Amy -

Welcome to the site. I saw a newer post from you and then looked at your other posts and discovered this.

A couple of the replies reminded me of the following: A sweet old lady went to the doctor for her annual checkup. She had no complaints but thought she might mention to him that she did seem to have a great deal of gas but that she really didn't find it a problem because it neither smelled nor made a sound. The kind doctor smiled and, following the examination, wrote out a prescription and asked her to come back in two weeks. Two weeks later, to the day, the sweet old lady returned to her favorite doctor--but she was obviously distressed! She explained to him that the pills had done nothing for her gas problem except to cause them to smell... badly! The kind doctor smiled again and replied, "I see the antibiotics took care of your sinus infection. Now we're going to work on your hearing."

Hearing is in the ear of the hearer, I guess. I can hear my tissue valve when I'm in a tiled room all by myself. I've read that smaller valves are noisier than larger valves, as are mitrals over aortic. Take care and keep posting.

 

[njean]

Hello Amy & welcome to this forum. I have two mechanical valves, Mitral & Aortic & had them both implanted when I was 24 years old --- 33 years ago. They (the valves) were named Cooley-Cutter valves, named after Dr. Denton Cooley, the surgeon that implanted them in my heart. The ticking sound took a little getting used to at first but as time went on, I didn't even notice the sound & when I did, it was just reassuring to hear them, afterall, they were keeping me alive! Asides from a curious child tapping me on the shoulder & whispering "if I had swallowed a clock" or the stares from a bewildered person stuck w/me in an elevator, my ticking has never been a source of embarassment or discomfort but rather of pride & joy of being here & able to talk to others about it.

Best wishes to you my friend & welcome again to this group!

 

[Freddie]

I have a carbomedic's valve.
I might hear it 2% of the time

 

[queenie]

I heard mine clearly if there wasn't any other noise in the room. I have a carbomedics aortic valve. After surgery I had to start sleeping with a fan in the room so I could go to sleep. As a side point, The clicking has gone away in the last year and I just hear the heartbeat louder than usual. My valve is restricted apparently from pannus overgrowth and and has to be replaced. Moral of the story is the clicking is comforting, it's working right. Queenie