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breakingwaves
Paul R
Paul R
Now that is just pain cool! A 3 D model, wow! That would definitely help me underdstand!
Paul R
Now that is just pain cool! A 3 D model, wow! That would definitely help me underdstand!
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B
breakingwaves
Bvdr
Bvdr
I can understand that, it is fastinating how the body works!
Bvdr
I can understand that, it is fastinating how the body works!
B
breakingwaves
Ross
Ross
Thanks for bringing this up, when the heart doctor's bring this up, not only do I get time to react, I don't get time to even tell them, i don't have a clue about what they are talking about.
Ross
Thanks for bringing this up, when the heart doctor's bring this up, not only do I get time to react, I don't get time to even tell them, i don't have a clue about what they are talking about.
MarkU
Well-known member
The murmur from my bicuspid valve was first noticed when I was five years old. I had a catherization when I was 16 to better determine exactly what was going on (got me out of two days of football practice). I was told then that I should expect to have valve replacement surgery when I got "real old", like in my mid-40's! I was advised to wait as long as possible to have my surgery to let medical technology advance as much as possible (at the time the state-of-the-art was a ball & cage valve using what was essentially a ping-pong ball - certainly nothing that instilled much confidence).
For many years I had annual checkups with just a EKG and a listen to my heart by the doc.
When I became symptomatic at age 47, I had an echo to confirm the diagnosis. I had my second catherization the day before my surgery (the first & only other one being back when I was 16), mostly to determine whether they needed to fix anything else while they had me opened up.
I had an echo about a month after surgery and then another one at my first post-op annual checkup. I now have annual checkups, but only have echos every other year.
Mark
For many years I had annual checkups with just a EKG and a listen to my heart by the doc.
When I became symptomatic at age 47, I had an echo to confirm the diagnosis. I had my second catherization the day before my surgery (the first & only other one being back when I was 16), mostly to determine whether they needed to fix anything else while they had me opened up.
I had an echo about a month after surgery and then another one at my first post-op annual checkup. I now have annual checkups, but only have echos every other year.
Mark
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McCln
Breakingwaves
Breakingwaves
All I can tell you is from my own experience. I was born with a congential birth defect, aortic heart murmur. For surgery #1, x-ray, ekg, cath, repair. Surgery #2, tee, cath, x-ray, echo, replaced the aotic valve with st. Jude's. Health is better than it was before. Every person went through different procedures. The outcome is the same if done right. Of course, symptoms play a vital role also, shortness of breathe, tiredness, feeling weak. Just take it one day at a time. If you feel that something is wrong, talk with the doctor. Good luck and keep us informed.
Breakingwaves
All I can tell you is from my own experience. I was born with a congential birth defect, aortic heart murmur. For surgery #1, x-ray, ekg, cath, repair. Surgery #2, tee, cath, x-ray, echo, replaced the aotic valve with st. Jude's. Health is better than it was before. Every person went through different procedures. The outcome is the same if done right. Of course, symptoms play a vital role also, shortness of breathe, tiredness, feeling weak. Just take it one day at a time. If you feel that something is wrong, talk with the doctor. Good luck and keep us informed.
A
Abbanabba
I know a girl in her late 20's who has just gone through her 7th successful OHS. Most people probably won't have to go through that many in their lifetime, but I'm sure they have surgeons who specialise in "higher risk" surgeries, including those on people who have had multiples.breakingwaves said:
Anna : )
JimL
Well-known member
One OHS is enough for me! Some reason that they can undergo a second one.
Several have mentioned that the surgeon told them after the surgery exactly what he had found inside, which was not what he expected to find, usually much worse than he expected. That was the case with my surgery. He told me it was the worst he had ever seen (more than one surgeon has said that to more than one patient). I had weeks or days to live without surgery.
Obviously, all of the other tests should be used to learn as much as possible before the surgeon gets out his scalpel.
You might consider asking your cardiologist for a referral to a surgeon to get his opinion as well.
Several have mentioned that the surgeon told them after the surgery exactly what he had found inside, which was not what he expected to find, usually much worse than he expected. That was the case with my surgery. He told me it was the worst he had ever seen (more than one surgeon has said that to more than one patient). I had weeks or days to live without surgery.
Obviously, all of the other tests should be used to learn as much as possible before the surgeon gets out his scalpel.
You might consider asking your cardiologist for a referral to a surgeon to get his opinion as well.
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breakingwaves
MarkU
MarkU
well your heart situation has been with you almost all of your life it must seem very much apart of you, glad that you didn't get "too" old to have it all fixed up.
MarkU
well your heart situation has been with you almost all of your life it must seem very much apart of you, glad that you didn't get "too" old to have it all fixed up.
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breakingwaves
McCln
McCln
You sound great even after haing gone through two,and are good inspiration for having it done right.
McCln
You sound great even after haing gone through two,and are good inspiration for having it done right.
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breakingwaves
Abbanabba
Abbanabba
Whoa, makes me feel silly about worrying about ONE!
Abbanabba
Whoa, makes me feel silly about worrying about ONE!
B
breakingwaves
JimL
JimL
I agree with you, one certainly sounds like it should be enough, and it is good to have tests that give them knowledge of what is going on inside.
JimL
I agree with you, one certainly sounds like it should be enough, and it is good to have tests that give them knowledge of what is going on inside.
G
geebee
Don't feel silly
Don't feel silly
You should not feel bad about worrying about open heart surgery. One is too many for any person but some of us just have to go through it to stay on this planet.
For my own path: I had a few echos and stress tests. After passing out one day, I found myself in a hospital having a cath. All of a sudden everything became an emergency and I ended up with scheduled mitral valve repair. When the surgeon got in he found my valve was so bad he could not repair it and I came out of surgery with a shiny new Bjork-Shiley mitral valve. That was in 1980 so a TEE wasn't an option and I am not even sure they were doing MRIs back then.
I have had 2 more OHS, the most recent in 1994 when the recalled Bjork-Shiley was removed and my St. Jude implanted. It has worked perfectly ever since.
I think this only means everyone is different but we are all put through the rigors of testing. It is not always easy but it beats the alternatives.
Best luck.
Gina
Don't feel silly
You should not feel bad about worrying about open heart surgery. One is too many for any person but some of us just have to go through it to stay on this planet.
For my own path: I had a few echos and stress tests. After passing out one day, I found myself in a hospital having a cath. All of a sudden everything became an emergency and I ended up with scheduled mitral valve repair. When the surgeon got in he found my valve was so bad he could not repair it and I came out of surgery with a shiny new Bjork-Shiley mitral valve. That was in 1980 so a TEE wasn't an option and I am not even sure they were doing MRIs back then.
I have had 2 more OHS, the most recent in 1994 when the recalled Bjork-Shiley was removed and my St. Jude implanted. It has worked perfectly ever since.
I think this only means everyone is different but we are all put through the rigors of testing. It is not always easy but it beats the alternatives.
Best luck.
Gina
H
Harpoon
I think it's safe to say that the "workup" you'll get varies depending on who you are seeing and where.
Most people who "discover" a heart problem do so first through an ER visit. Common tests are a chest x-ray, EKG (measurement of the electrical impulses that drive the ehart to pump) and usually an MRI. Most ER facilities may also perform an echo if they know you've got a heart condition however the technician doing the echo may not be all that strong in charting valve issues (or congenital defects) and a second echo might be ordered later on by a cardiologist to be done by someone who really knows how to do it, what to look for.
After an initial stabilization of your condition, you'll probably have a cardiologist who will oversee your progress, evaluating and treating your condition medically, not surgically. At some point surgery is probably going to be in everyone's future and you'll be given a few suggestions on where to go, who to see.
In my experience, it was the surgeon's team that evaluated me and my condition. I got a whole battery of tests including blood work, ECG, echo's, stress test, CAT scan, MRI, a cath, and another form of echo done to evaluate the health of major vessels throughout my body. My evaluation was actually what they put most heart transplant candidates through. It was done at the Cleveland Clinic which was really the best (and only?) choice for me given my set of circumstances. After that transplant evaluation, they opted to try and either repair my tricuspid valve which was failing dramatically, or replace it with an artificial valve. There was no discussion about a homograft or any other form of treatment, just artificial St Jude's valve...
My case was fairly "special" in that I had an exsisting heart defect called transposition of the great vessels (something I was born with) and had already had one OHS to repair that, about a year after I was born.
I don't think there's a set process or series of steps one goes through from the moment they learn they have a valve problem to when it gets repaired/replaced. It really dpends on the kind of care they're getting from their doctors, how that care progresses, the developement of the problem and response to treatment.
It isn't like, "First you'll get an x-ray, then an echo, then an MRI, then a holter, then a cath, then surgery."
I had a number of these tests AFTER surgery too. In fact, the first time I ever had a holter monitor was well after surgery, about 18 months after because I had some "pesky" arrhythmias which were creeping up at night when I was getting ready for bed. They've since cleared up on their own for the most part.
Everyone's progression from initial diagnoses to a "final" treatment will be different.
Most people who "discover" a heart problem do so first through an ER visit. Common tests are a chest x-ray, EKG (measurement of the electrical impulses that drive the ehart to pump) and usually an MRI. Most ER facilities may also perform an echo if they know you've got a heart condition however the technician doing the echo may not be all that strong in charting valve issues (or congenital defects) and a second echo might be ordered later on by a cardiologist to be done by someone who really knows how to do it, what to look for.
After an initial stabilization of your condition, you'll probably have a cardiologist who will oversee your progress, evaluating and treating your condition medically, not surgically. At some point surgery is probably going to be in everyone's future and you'll be given a few suggestions on where to go, who to see.
In my experience, it was the surgeon's team that evaluated me and my condition. I got a whole battery of tests including blood work, ECG, echo's, stress test, CAT scan, MRI, a cath, and another form of echo done to evaluate the health of major vessels throughout my body. My evaluation was actually what they put most heart transplant candidates through. It was done at the Cleveland Clinic which was really the best (and only?) choice for me given my set of circumstances. After that transplant evaluation, they opted to try and either repair my tricuspid valve which was failing dramatically, or replace it with an artificial valve. There was no discussion about a homograft or any other form of treatment, just artificial St Jude's valve...
My case was fairly "special" in that I had an exsisting heart defect called transposition of the great vessels (something I was born with) and had already had one OHS to repair that, about a year after I was born.
I don't think there's a set process or series of steps one goes through from the moment they learn they have a valve problem to when it gets repaired/replaced. It really dpends on the kind of care they're getting from their doctors, how that care progresses, the developement of the problem and response to treatment.
It isn't like, "First you'll get an x-ray, then an echo, then an MRI, then a holter, then a cath, then surgery."
I had a number of these tests AFTER surgery too. In fact, the first time I ever had a holter monitor was well after surgery, about 18 months after because I had some "pesky" arrhythmias which were creeping up at night when I was getting ready for bed. They've since cleared up on their own for the most part.
Everyone's progression from initial diagnoses to a "final" treatment will be different.
Hi BW,
I was born with a congenital defect as well (VSD), so from the time I was born until age 18 I had 2 caths (18mo & 17), echos every 6-12 months from the time the echo machine was invented, EKG's, x-rays (the old barium kind
), etc.
From about age 19 until age 43 I only saw a cardiologist once (around age 30) and he said everything looked fine and to come back in 3-5 years (which I didn't). Last October I contracted endocarditis which was finally diagnoised with blood cultures and an echo. In mid December I had another echo to make sure the endocarditis was gone. I saw a cardiologist in January who recommended surgery and getting a TEE before surgery. I found my surgeon in February and he looked at the echo done back in December and said I didn't need a TEE (he had all the info he needed from the echo). I had a cath at the beginning of March and OHS in mid March. So I guess you could say I went echo, echo, cath, surgery...but I've been doing the echo, echo, cath routine since I was a "pup". Since surgery I have had one echo, numerous chest x-rays, as well as a CT scan, MRI, and additional surgery for sternum related issues. Some how I have lucked out on having to take any stress tests so far...knock on wood.
I was born with a congenital defect as well (VSD), so from the time I was born until age 18 I had 2 caths (18mo & 17), echos every 6-12 months from the time the echo machine was invented, EKG's, x-rays (the old barium kind
), etc.From about age 19 until age 43 I only saw a cardiologist once (around age 30) and he said everything looked fine and to come back in 3-5 years (which I didn't). Last October I contracted endocarditis which was finally diagnoised with blood cultures and an echo. In mid December I had another echo to make sure the endocarditis was gone. I saw a cardiologist in January who recommended surgery and getting a TEE before surgery. I found my surgeon in February and he looked at the echo done back in December and said I didn't need a TEE (he had all the info he needed from the echo). I had a cath at the beginning of March and OHS in mid March. So I guess you could say I went echo, echo, cath, surgery...but I've been doing the echo, echo, cath routine since I was a "pup". Since surgery I have had one echo, numerous chest x-rays, as well as a CT scan, MRI, and additional surgery for sternum related issues. Some how I have lucked out on having to take any stress tests so far...knock on wood.
B
breakingwaves
geebee
geebee
Good about the getting fixed after fainting, (one of my fears as I drive the kids back and forth to school some 3 hours by finish both ways, today I feel whoosy) bad that they had a recall, but good that they fixed it right!
geebee
Good about the getting fixed after fainting, (one of my fears as I drive the kids back and forth to school some 3 hours by finish both ways, today I feel whoosy) bad that they had a recall, but good that they fixed it right!
B
breakingwaves
Harpoon
Harpoon
Thanks for replying, I can imagine that each experience is different but similar in some way. It has been helpful to read though all he different types of tests and experiences.
Harpoon
Thanks for replying, I can imagine that each experience is different but similar in some way. It has been helpful to read though all he different types of tests and experiences.
B
breakingwaves
Bryan B
Bryan B
How was the Beach? Does the surgery typically have wires and what it that all about, sorry if I ask too many questions.
Bryan B
How was the Beach? Does the surgery typically have wires and what it that all about, sorry if I ask too many questions.
Tom F.
Well-known member
Breaking - when they did the MRI on me they were still in the "what's going on phase", plus I was working with a cardiologist that I subsequently fired. Who knows why they did it !
BW,
The beach was great (see pics in small talk). In order to get to your heart they must break your sternum (I know...yuck ). When they are done they wire your sternum back together. Most people never have a problem with the wires, but for some the wires may cause irritation and/or pain from rubbing against the chest wall or cartilage near the sternum. I think I have suffered from irritation from the wires in addition to some cartilage damage while they had me open. Having the wires removed was kind of a last resort to relieve the pain I was experiencing. Sor far it has relieved the constant irritation I was experiencing, but I'm still having some pain that comes and goes (I believe this is caused by cartilage damage). My, I have started rambling again...
The beach was great (see pics in small talk). In order to get to your heart they must break your sternum (I know...yuck
). When they are done they wire your sternum back together. Most people never have a problem with the wires, but for some the wires may cause irritation and/or pain from rubbing against the chest wall or cartilage near the sternum. I think I have suffered from irritation from the wires in addition to some cartilage damage while they had me open. Having the wires removed was kind of a last resort to relieve the pain I was experiencing. Sor far it has relieved the constant irritation I was experiencing, but I'm still having some pain that comes and goes (I believe this is caused by cartilage damage). My, I have started rambling again...
B
breakingwaves
Bryan B
Bryan B
This may sound like a simple question but then do thewires usually stay in you then?
Bryan B
This may sound like a simple question but then do thewires usually stay in you then?
