two year aniversery of heart valves... echo shows growth on one valve UGGGGGHHH!!!

[weissarthur]

Hi all,

I had an echo done last week (2 year aniversery of my two valve replacement due to endocarditus)... results came back that there was one view of the valve that might be growth ... or it might just be a shadow or just how my valve looks. That was friday, they took bloodwork to see how if i grow any bacteria... I find out more today at my cardiologist appt...)...

My question is in three parts...

1) has anyone else experienced a read on an echo like this before and how often are they false?

2) I hear doctors say, "take care of these valves" and I will... but I could use some rules... what are the rules to avoiding endocarditus again? takeing care of the valves? If I had a set of rules to follow I would be an "A" students...

and finally

3) I am a high school teacher. Is there anyway that the "bugs" im exposed to at my job could have anything to do with or create "increased risk" for me? ( I really dont think so, but I thought Id ask anyway... Its always good to get varification rather then assume)

this is my first post as a member, but I have been an avid reader of this forum for several years now. Id like to take a moment to thank all of the people who contribute... the information I have recieved here has given me peace of mind and understanding. Also, thankyou in advance to all those who respond to this post...

 

[DavesMom]

Hi there,

I had AVR back in '99 and my yearly echos were always perfect until a couple of years ago when something showed up that my cardio said could be a clot or vegetation. I went into a panic but had a TEE the next week and turned out to be absolutely nothing - perhaps it was just the way the tech did my echo. So there is a chance that the echo was false.

As for your second question, perhaps they're referring to things like good dental care.

I'm a former teacher myself. My cardiac problems are congenital but I can't imagine there are any bugs you could pick up in the classroom that would impact your heart.

I know how scary this is but hopefully you'll have further tests and everything will turn out fine. Good luck and keep us posted.

Cheers!

Hi all,

I had an echo done last week (2 year aniversery of my two valve replacement due to endocarditus)... results came back that there was one view of the valve that might be growth ... or it might just be a shadow or just how my valve looks. That was friday, they took bloodwork to see how if i grow any bacteria... I find out more today at my cardiologist appt...)...

My question is in three parts...

1) has anyone else experienced a read on an echo like this before and how often are they false?

2) I hear doctors say, "take care of these valves" and I will... but I could use some rules... what are the rules to avoiding endocarditus again? takeing care of the valves? If I had a set of rules to follow I would be an "A" students...

and finally

3) I am a high school teacher. Is there anyway that the "bugs" im exposed to at my job could have anything to do with or create "increased risk" for me? ( I really dont think so, but I thought Id ask anyway... Its always good to get varification rather then assume)

this is my first post as a member, but I have been an avid reader of this forum for several years now. Id like to take a moment to thank all of the people who contribute... the information I have recieved here has given me peace of mind and understanding. Also, thankyou in advance to all those who respond to this post...

 

[cldlhd]

I can't imagine the kind of bacteria in s classroom would be any worse than any other public job. I work for a water and sewer authority, my wife works at a medical facility dealing with sick people all day and my son is in first grade with a busy birthday party schedule so I can't imagine many germs I haven't been exposed to and I'm considering a mechanical valve when my aneurysm is addressed so it's definitely a concern of mine. Is the likelihood of getting endocarditis higher if you had it previously?

Hi all,

I had an echo done last week (2 year aniversery of my two valve replacement due to endocarditus)... results came back that there was one view of the valve that might be growth ... or it might just be a shadow or just how my valve looks. That was friday, they took bloodwork to see how if i grow any bacteria... I find out more today at my cardiologist appt...)...

My question is in three parts...

1) has anyone else experienced a read on an echo like this before and how often are they false?

2) I hear doctors say, "take care of these valves" and I will... but I could use some rules... what are the rules to avoiding endocarditus again? takeing care of the valves? If I had a set of rules to follow I would be an "A" students...

and finally

3) I am a high school teacher. Is there anyway that the "bugs" im exposed to at my job could have anything to do with or create "increased risk" for me? ( I really dont think so, but I thought Id ask anyway... Its always good to get varification rather then assume)

this is my first post as a member, but I have been an avid reader of this forum for several years now. Id like to take a moment to thank all of the people who contribute... the information I have recieved here has given me peace of mind and understanding. Also, thankyou in advance to all those who respond to this post...

 

[weissarthur]

I think the short answer to that is... yes... but by how much I do not know...

I had a bicuspid valve before my endocarditus... one of the things that helped the bacteria to settle on my heart was the "imperfection" gave it something to "hold on to" (sorry, Im not a doctor... but explination made sense to me)... Thus along that logic, I've got to believe a mechanical or organic valve would present the same possiblity... so increased... but with knowing about the potential for it, dental care will be at an increase which may off set the risk... idk...

 

[ottagal]

First of all, welcome 'officially' to this great forum.

There was a great thread not too long ago about daily preventative dental hygiene to reduce chances of developing endocardititis. SkiGirl gave a good synopsis.

Your question about being exposed to germs in the classroom reminded me of my classroom days as a student teacher. During my first practicum, I fell very sick with a good dose of strep throat (I hadn't had this since my childhood days). When I returned, a few of the students had also been off with a bad bout of strep throat. I can't help but think, one of the students 'kindly' shared it with me perhaps through a cough or sneeze. Of course, I will never know.

I think that when one works with the 'public' it is wise to wash your hands frequently, eat well, get your sleep and do your best to avoid getting sick. I think the trick is not to obsess over this. Of course, easier said than done.

There is also the prophylactic prevention with antibiotics prior to certain dental procedures and other medical procedures.

I hope that everything turns out Ok for you.

 

[weissarthur]

Thanks for your reply I've considered "oil pulling" for a while now... I've heard that this does a great job of killing bacteria in the mouth so I may add this to my dental regimine...

 

[weissarthur]

Hi there,

I had AVR back in '99 and my yearly echos were always perfect until a couple of years ago when something showed up that my cardio said could be a clot or vegetation. I went into a panic but had a TEE the next week and turned out to be absolutely nothing - perhaps it was just the way the tech did my echo. So there is a chance that the echo was false.

As for your second question, perhaps they're referring to things like good dental care.

I'm a former teacher myself. My cardiac problems are congenital but I can't imagine there are any bugs you could pick up in the classroom that would impact your heart.

I know how scary this is but hopefully you'll have further tests and everything will turn out fine. Good luck and keep us posted.

Cheers!

Thank you for your answers... I try to stay optimistic

 

[pellicle]

Hi

Thanks for your reply I've considered "oil pulling" for a while now... I've heard that this does a great job of killing bacteria in the mouth so I may add this to my dental regimine...

any decent mouth wash (left in the mouth and brushing) plus proper flossing technique is pretty much all you need.

I have seen some pretty furry teeth out there in places, so its hard to say what's normal (when some of the stench mouths I've been around thought they were normal).

 

[weissarthur]

thank you all for your posts... sorry I didnt reply earlier. I spend a weekend in the hospital... I went in on a friday so they connected me to iv antibiotics and I had to wait until monday to get a TEE to look at the heart to see if it was growing bacteria... on monday the tee didnt show any bacteria... I guess the two options I have are that I never had bacteria there or that the iv antibiotic treatment over the weekend treated it and it was gone by monday. Based on how i felt after the weekend of antibiotics (no more fatigue or night sweats) I feel like there was something and we got it.

Oddly, two weeks later I developed MRSA in a bug bite on my stomach:thumbd: Grrrrr...