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- Dec 5, 2020
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To reinforce what Tom is saying: If you go to your cardiologist and tell him that despite the fact that your valve is working great you want another OHS with a new valve, good luck with getting that approved by insurance, even if you could convince your cardiologist and surgeon that this is the right thing to do.
It truly makes no sense to replace a valve that is working good just because of the age. Patients at that point typically get echos every 6 months, which gives the indication for how the valve is doing. Valves are not like milk with an expiration date after which you toss them out.
Having said that, I am an advocate of the concept that it is better to replace a valve a little to early than a little too late, But, before replacement is even considered, there should at least be signs of significant SVD. Also, patients should pay close attention to the early signs of any symptoms between echos and take them seriously, possibly moving up the echo date if something feels off, like getting out of breath easier. In my view, better to replace before symptoms, but certainly not before any signs of SVD, at least under normal circumstances- there are other reasons, such as a tear, which could call for valve replacement.
Since you are using the car analogy, I'll stick with that line of thinking. Getting his valve done now would be like going to the mechanic and telling him you want new brakes because you've gone 40,000 miles. Your mechanic inspects your brakes and tells you that the pads still have 60% left. Would you still want him to replace them based on the mileage, or wait for his inspections in future visits to guide the timing?
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