Tissue Valvers. How Old is Yours?

[tigerlily]

My Edwards bovine pericardial valve is 10 years and 5 months old. It has served me well. My last echo was recent and it showed moderate stenosis. Even so, I'm hoping this valve has a few more good years in it.

 

[6 for Sarah]

I had a human tissue aortic valve put in in 2004, 12 years ago. It is failing now. Moderate to severe regurgitation.

 

[judy bee]

Great to hear most of you are doing well.
What's the reason for most folk having Aortic more so than Mitral issues on here.. ?
Is that just how it is in general or is this forum more that way inclined so to speak ?

 

[Agian]

It's just the way it is in general. Aortic replacements are more common than Mitral. I remember someone implying they felt discriminated against, on the forum, as a mitral valver.

Then there are the tissue and mechanical valve militias. Add political differences; the irreligious heathens vs. the god-fearing Americans and you would think it was Lebanon during the 80s. Only difference is that we're tired and anxious LOL

 

[neil]

am a member of heart valve surgery support group run by adam pick its got 6000 members and I was pleasantly surprised how long tissue valves in some are lasting, really good feedback, Agian like that tissue and mech militias made me laugh that

 

[judy bee]

It's just the way it is in general. Aortic replacements are more common than Mitral. I remember someone implying they felt discriminated against, on the forum, as a mitral valver.

Then there are the tissue and mechanical valve militias. Add political differences; the irreligious heathens vs. the god-fearing Americans and you would think it was Lebanon during the 80s. Only difference is that we're tired and anxious LOL

Hahah..i've only JUST read your reply ..Funny.. :}

So, now i can join this thread and say i've got a Meditronic bovine 27mm in the Mitral position ( i'm still learning the lingo ) and it is 4 1/2 weeks old..
Had my surgery in India as that's where i'm living at the mo...

Surgeon was fantastic and overall really good after care.. I'm on Cordoran ? Had an episode last week where I had to be rushed to Icu and it took them 2 days to stabilise me.. Racing heart and pounding head.. They said it was SVT ( Supra Ventrical Tachycardia) but weren't really able to tell me why it happened..Or if they did, I haven't understood..They pumped cordoran into me for 48 hours..

Good to see so many doing so well on here..

Re the TEE.. My TEE which was done 2 weeks before surgery showed my situation to be far worse than the 6 x 2d echos i'd had in the previous 6 months...

 

[Paleowoman]

What's the reason for most folk having Aortic more so than Mitral issues on here.. ?
Is that just how it is in general or is this forum more that way inclined so to speak ?

The reason is geeral I think. Bicuspid Aortic Valve is the most common genetic birth defect of the heart, something like 2% of the population as far as I know. Some bicuspid aortic valvers need their aortic valve replaced soon after birth, others later in life, some not at all, but the point is that since it is the most "common" birth defect there's going to be more people with that valve problem going to need valve replacement than people who have problems with the other valves !

 

[judy bee]

Yes..thanks Anne..x

 

[epstns]

. . . and just to cloud the waters, IIRC when I first joined here long ago (in 2002. . . yeesh!), the ranks were almost even - mitral valve patients and aortic valve patients. I'll bet that if we had the ability to do any research, we might find that the proportions move over time, depending on some massively random set of variables.

Just like so many other characteristics. . . we're ALL heart valve patients.

 

[CROSSFIRE]

My Edwards Bovine Pericardial Valve is over 14 years, done on Dec. 3 2002.

 

[judy bee]

. . . and just to cloud the waters, IIRC when I first joined here long ago (in 2002. . . yeesh!), the ranks were almost even - mitral valve patients and aortic valve patients. I'll bet that if we had the ability to do any research, we might find that the proportions move over time, depending on some massively random set of variables.

Just like so many other characteristics. . . we're ALL heart valve patients.

Interesting to hear that.. Black Swans they're called random variables like that. And yes true..we are ALL connected by a common thread

 

[ashadds]

Can people mentioned their age at implantation along with the age of the valve ? would help a lot

 

[Star007]

My pulmonary pig valve turned 19 years old this month.

 

[Sean Oboil]

I'm 64y/o and scheduled for tests at BWH Boston soon - have beed diagnosed with Aortic stenosis and looks like I will need a vlv replacement. Any recommendations?
Would def like to go w a tissue one.
Thanks John

 

[Sean Oboil]

I'm 64y/o and scheduled for tests at BWH Boston soon - have been diagnosed with Aortic stenosis and looks like I will need a vlv replacement. Any recommendations?
Would def like to go w a tissue one.
Thanks John

 

[jcgtok17]

50 years young. AVR surgery completed 1 May 2017, hence 2 weeks. St. Jude Medical Trifecta valve - 28mm (bovine). So far so good. Still receiving antibiotic treatment for Bacteremia (blood poisoning) which led to Endocarditis (perforated aortic value - regurgitation), otherwise I would have been released today. Expected hospital release date 24 May 2017. JCG

 

[mikeccolella]

Hi this is my first post. Got my Edwards 3000tfx 3 months ago. Great forum. I am 64.

 

[mikeccolella]

I'm 64y/o and scheduled for tests at BWH Boston soon - have been diagnosed with Aortic stenosis and looks like I will need a vlv replacement. Any recommendations?
Would def like to go w a tissue one.
Thanks John

Hi John, I just had aortic replacement 3months ago. Not as bad as I expected. Almost did not want to leave the hospital. The nurses were incredible in the ICU. I am assuming you checked out the hospital and the surgeon. That is the most important thing you can do IMO. U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORTS rates hospitals even the smaller ones like mine. Just google your hospital and put in U.S. NEWS HOSPITAL RATINGS. As far as valve type talk to the surgeon. Mine was neutral. He said with the advancements in TAVR the tissue valve at my age was looking like a good choice, but he was certainly open to the mechanical valve. I chose the tissue valve because I tend to be a bleeder. Low dose aspirin effects me a lot. I have to not take it if I get a dental cleaning I bleed so much, so I thought I might not do well on warfarin.

 

[jcgtok17]

Here is Japan there was very little air time given to the mechanical option. With TAVR procedures soon to be covered in Japan and already covered in my native Canada it seemed a rolling 10 year catheter fix was much better than Warafin (daily). In terms of which tissue option the most common here are Crown (a smaller value and the "avg" value size used in Japan is a 22mm) and Trifecta which I went with as fitment was better (assumed 25mm but the biggest 28mm used in the end). Day 15 and all good so far. Quite relieved to be on this side of it. Best of luck with your decision and eventual procedure. JCG

 

[Juli]

Here is Japan there was very little air time given to the mechanical option. With TAVR procedures soon to be covered in Japan and already covered in my native Canada it seemed a rolling 10 year catheter fix was much better than Warafin (daily). In terms of which tissue option the most common here are Crown (a smaller value and the "avg" value size used in Japan is a 22mm) and Trifecta which I went with as fitment was better (assumed 25mm but the biggest 28mm used in the end). Day 15 and all good so far. Quite relieved to be on this side of it. Best of luck with your decision and eventual procedure. JCG

Thanks for providing this update. It would be great to hear back over the coming months how things are and how the valve is working for you. I think you are one of the "youngest" patients that received TAVR on this forum - definitely a trend to watch which could change future treatments especially when there is no issue with an aneurysm.