Valve Cards

[LJM]

I was wondering ... When you get a mechanical valve do you get those cards that your suppose to carry. In 06 o had a Bovine valve replaced and they sent me cards that i am suppose to carry,

I have a St Jude Mechanical valve put in 6 weeks ago, Will i get a card for this valve too ???

 

[Jkm7]

You might wish to contact your surgeon's office.
They can tell you how to go about getting a card.
Hope your recovery is going well.

 

[LJM]

are there cards for the mechanical valves ?? I don't know i had a tissue valve last time,

 

[bigsidster]

I had a ST JUDES valve installed and had a tempoary card when I left the hospital.The permanent card came weeks later in the mail.

 

[LJM]

So i should be looking at my mail. lol. How much later my surgery was 6 weeks ago. Hmmm I think i may have to look into this.

 

[lance]

I have a card for my St. Jude;s that I carry in my wallet. At the time of my surgery in 1999 it was the surgeon's office that sent them out.

 

[D.C.]

Have the card. Hospital took care to get it sent to me. Has type,size and serial number.

 

[Fundy]

My St. Jude's card came yesterday, three weeks after the surgery. I had the temporary card before I left the hospital.

 

[bdryer]

On the day of discharge from the hospital, I was presented with a card for my ON-X MAV. This card described the details of my MHV including the S/N. I was instructed to keep the card with me always.

 

[Jason]

I had a temporary card when I left the hospital, and got the permanent one in the mail about 3 weeks later. This was for a carbomedics mechanical valve.

 

[Mentu]

Usually the surgeon's office submitts the information to register your heart valve regardless of the type. My surgeon's office failed to do this and I had to register my own valve. You can do this yourself using the contact listed below and the information you received in the discharge package which should include the serial number of your valve. If you do not have the serial number, call your surgeon's office and ask for it. You can then register your valve by contacting St Jude Medical using the following:

St. Jude Medical, Inc.

Toll-free Number 800.328.9634
Phone Number 651.756.2000
Fax Number 651.756.3301

http://www.sjm.com/corporate/contact-us.aspx

The link also allows you to send email if you prefer.

 

[DanielB]

I was in contact with On-x about getting a tee-shirt, so I asked them directly to send one out to me, which they did.

Dan

 

[Lynlw]

are there cards for the mechanical valves ?? I don't know i had a tissue valve last time,

Yes it's important to have the card, one of the things you would need (well makes things easier if you have it) it for is if you need an MRI, the card has the information on what setting are safe etc. I think it might take a couple months, or you can contact them with the info larry posted

 

[LJM]

Well i just called them and they said they are backed up at St,Jude, She said they are currently working on valved replaced on Oct 18th. So i will give it a few more weeks and see if they come in,

In the mean time i am calling my Dr i was suppose to get a temp card on the day of my release. I did not get one,

 

[bradvo]

I was told my card should have been given to me at hospital in my discharge paper work packet.
ALso told if it was not there, well then it got ate up at the hospital and that is that.
So I politely asked for the size, the surgeon assistant then gave me size and serial number.
I wonder if I contacted on-x if they could replace card then???

Brad

 

[LJM]

Well they are send me my card, they said it should be in a few weeks. By the time i called my surgeon he was gone for the day so i will call him on Monday.


I am seeing a lot of this ON-X valve, whats the difference between that & the St. Jude Valve ???

 

[bdryer]

LJM,What's the difference between ON-X and St Jude MHV's you ask? With ON-X you get a T-shirt and a cycling jersey. LOL.

ON-X has been engineered to hold back scar tissue, by incorporating an inlet flare. ON-X is made from pure pyrolytic carbon. This creates a smoother surface producing a laminar flow of the blood. Bottom line, turbulence is eliminated. The leaflets open fully to 90 degrees, again enhancing a laminar flow of blood and eliminating turbulance. By design, minimal damage is done to the hemoglobin. The inner annulus pivot guides are dampened at the end of travel to reduce noise. The valve annulus has a venturi shape which enhances fluid/blood flow. This design is under study for recipients to maintain a reduced INR of 1.5-2.0, supplemented by 81 mg baby aspirin. I'm an aircraft tech and understand fluid dynamics, thats why I hand picked this valve.

I'm guessing by the date of your St. Jude implant, you received the Regent model. Even if it is a Masters model, they also are excellent MHV's along with all present MHV's such as Carbomedics and ATS. If you want to go through OHS again to be implanted with an ON-X for the sake of free clothing, go for it. Be pleased and comfy knowing that your St. Jude MHV is a fantastic piece of engineering which will out last you.

If you are really curious, snoop around the MFG's web sites. They are very informative.

 

[LJM]

OH GOD NO... I never want another OHS. Never. 4 is just plenty. Thanks for all the info. I can def do without the t-shirt, lol

LJM,What's the difference between ON-X and St Jude MHV's you ask? With ON-X you get a T-shirt and a cycling jersey. LOL.

ON-X has been engineered to hold back scar tissue, by incorporating an inlet flare. ON-X is made from pure pyrolytic carbon. This creates a smoother surface producing a laminar flow of the blood. Bottom line, turbulence is eliminated. The leaflets open fully to 90 degrees, again enhancing a laminar flow of blood and eliminating turbulance. By design, minimal damage is done to the hemoglobin. The inner annulus pivot guides are dampened at the end of travel to reduce noise. The valve annulus has a venturi shape which enhances fluid/blood flow. This design is under study for recipients to maintain a reduced INR of 1.5-2.0, supplemented by 81 mg baby aspirin. I'm an aircraft tech and understand fluid dynamics, thats why I hand picked this valve.

I'm guessing by the date of your St. Jude implant, you received the Regent model. Even if it is a Masters model, they also are excellent MHV's along with all present MHV's such as Carbomedics and ATS. If you want to go through OHS again to be implanted with an ON-X for the sake of free clothing, go for it. Be pleased and comfy knowing that your St. Jude MHV is a fantastic piece of engineering which will out last you.

If you are really curious, snoop around the MFG's web sites. They are very informative.

 

[yotphix]

Yes it's important to have the card, one of the things you would need (well makes things easier if you have it) it for is if you need an MRI, the card has the information on what setting are safe etc. I think it might take a couple months, or you can contact them with the info larry posted

Hmmm....I'm looking at my card right now and it simply says "Studies have indicated that all CarboMedics Inc....heart valve replacement and repair implants are MRI Compatible." Does Justin's valve require special settings to avoid problems in an MRI? Pyrolitic carbon responds to a strong magnetic field, (it's either diamagnetic, retromagnetic or both, I can't rembember, but a sheet of it can actually be levitated over a rare earth magnet.) but I was told by the docs that an MRI doesn't exert enough force to overcome blood flow or pressure, which dictate the position of the valves moment by moment.

I'd be curious to know if this is not true for all pyrolytic carbon valves.

 

[Lynlw]

Hmmm....I'm looking at my card right now and it simply says "Studies have indicated that all CarboMedics Inc....heart valve replacement and repair implants are MRI Compatible." Does Justin's valve require special settings to avoid problems in an MRI? Pyrolitic carbon responds to a strong magnetic field, (it's either diamagnetic, retromagnetic or both, I can't rembember, but a sheet of it can actually be levitated over a rare earth magnet.) but I was told by the docs that an MRI doesn't exert enough force to overcome blood flow or pressure, which dictate the position of the valves moment by moment.

I'd be curious to know if this is not true for all pyrolytic carbon valves.

Justin has a tissue valve which the frame isnt magnetic, but to be honest we spend more time before MRIs and when schedualling them, talking about his pacer wires, so i dont remember if there are any setting for MRI they need to use because of his valve or other parts he's had replaced, i dont think so tho.
I know from those talks, beside the magnetic issues one of the main concerns with metal and MRIs is if they can get too hot, so beside settings they discussed time frames.

Anyway back to St jude and the patient card, from their site under patient concerns. (BTW they said you should have the card within 90 days) it says

"MRI Testing
If you are told you need to have an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), tell the doctor that you have an artificial heart valve and show your ID card, which contains important information about how to perform an MRI safely with your valve. Your doctor or MRI technician may request the following information:

Non-clinical testing has demonstrated that St. Jude Medical heart valves and repair devices are MR conditional. They can be scanned safely under the following conditions:

Static magnetic field of 3 Tesla or less
Spatial gradient of 525 Gauss/cm or less
Maximum whole-body-averaged specific absorption rate (SAR) of 2.0-W/kg for 15 minutes of scanning
If you have questions or concerns about this and other diagnostic tests and your heart valve, please talk to your doctor.

http://health.sjm.com/heart-valve-answers/daily-life/everyday-concerns.aspx

I noticed that mentioned a time frame too, so my guess that would be because of heating since I dont think wether it is magnetic or not would cause problems after a certain time. altho i could be completely wrong of course.

ps
ok I found info on Justin's tissue (edwards perimount) valve and MRI safety/settings and it says "Testing of these devices in a magnetic field of 1.5, 3.0, and 8.0 tesla has shown that these devices are safe and compatible during MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) procedures" and doesnt have any settings or times