Hi-
Welcome to this fantastic site. It's a wonderful place to be when faced with heart valve surgery. You'll find the people here very friendly and helpful.
Usually the discussion about valve surgery takes place after some tests are done. The tests they do. echos, TEEs, catheterizations show the function of the heart and indicate when the time is right for surgery. It sometimes happens that the tests show damage before the patient feels symptoms. The patient's heart can compensate for valve disfunction to a point, but it enlarges and does damage in the process. Also some valve problems develop over a long period of time, and the patient becomes used to the slow decline in heart function. Spome thinking it's just age, being tired, etc. Lots of time medicines can help in the beginning. But eventually if the valve isn't functioning properly, the only real fix is surgery.
Sooner or later, the heart cannot cope with the stresses put upon it, and symptoms develop.
It's better to go into this surgery in as good shape as is possible. The better your health condition, going in, the easier the recovery is.
The surgery is scary when you first hear about it, but it has been perfected to a very high degree, the mortality rate is excellent. The surgeons who do this are higly skilled and the surgery saves many, many lives. Years ago, these folks would have died, today they have a chance for a normal lifespan.
My husband is 70 years old, and has had 3 valve surgeries, plus numerous other major surgeries. He had rheumatic fever as a teenager, and was not supposed to live past 50. But the surgeries saved his life many times over.
Nice to hear from you and hope we see you here often.
Take care,
