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My brother has a tissue mitral valve and it looks like he will soon be needing a replacement. I have a repaired mitral valve and figure I will also need another surgery in the future. A few years ago lots of members of this forum were getting the On-X mitral valve which had a new design and...

For the last 15 years I have been tracking my family's mitral heart valve issue. Most of the time I was fine but when I got tired and frustrated and especially leading up to my surgery I thought 'Why me? Why do I have to deal with this heart problem?' My 62 year old sister has been diagnosed...

My hubby, son and I rode 50 miles in the Hotter N Hell bike ride in Wichita Falls, TX, yesterday. I had planned to make this ride last year but had a bout of pleurisy right before the ride. We were riding with my 15 year old son's Boy Scout troop. OK, I can't resist this story. Riding with a...

Karlynn's post in another thread made me think about my poor husband. I had minimally invasive mitral valve repair and while I was in the hospital had a pain pump on the right side of my chest and a drain. When this was removed it left 2 holes, one was an 'open' wound....I think you could...

I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a couple of years ago. I realize the thyroid has a significant impact on the heart and can cause heart rhythm issues. My cardiologist has been a real stickler about staying on top of my thyroid levels. I had a 6 month stint where I didn't see him and during...

My brother takes coumadin and travels a lot with his job. I suggested he get a machine so he can do his own testing. I know a lot of you have machines you like. Can you tell me what you recommend and what price range he could expect. Also, he has Aetna insurance. Is there any chance of...

Before my surgery in February, I would get winded when I climbed stairs. I realized after I got further along in my knowledge of my mitral valve issue, I had had this symptom for years, or at least that's what I attributed it to. Therefore, knowing I had the problem, I avoided exercise with...

Has anyone here had pleurisy? I was having chest, neck, back pain the 3rd week of August so the doctor did chest xrays and I was diagnosed with pleurisy. When I started on Naproxen I started feeling better fairly quickly. Now, approximately 3 weeks later, I feel it coming back. I have the...

I am not looking for an excuse but a possible explanation. :confused: Has anyone noticed difficulty losing weight while on Toprol XL? I was really motivated a few months ago and had started going back to Weight Watchers, trying to get back to my goal weight. I was doing good (down 14 lbs from...

This is a hard post for me for many reasons. I recently (proactively) had mitral valve surgery on February 21. It was not easy for me to come to grips with the realization I needed to have the surgery. I knew this despite what my cardiologist was telling me at the time. To get yourself to...

I decided to start this thread after my recent experience with flecanide, one of the drugs used to control heart rhythm issues, and reading other recent posts dealing with issues from the same type of medication. Has anyone ever had a-fib/a-flutter and the cardio/surgeon not put them on...

I wanted to post this thread for the folks in the waiting room. Here I am at 10 weeks post surgery and really feeling good. Outside of my one bump with a-flutter it has been pretty uneventful, including the surgery itself and time in the hospital, and do I ever feel blessed! In addition to...

I have seen 'pump head' referred to in several threads and read a couple of articles on it. How many folks here have actually had it and what did you experience? I have noticed a few things with myself since my surgery including a goofy note I sent to school with my daughter this week. She...

I don't even know where to begin....I had a-flutter last week. I think the a-flutter issue may be resolved. Today I had a stress/echo. The new cardiologist I am seeing advised me I have heart weakness and has put me on a couple of medicines that hopefully will help. Then he asked....has...

Well I was moving along on a smooth recovery after my MV repair on 02/21 until I went to my cardiologist last Monday. He determined I was in a-flutter, put me on 5 mg coumadin, 25 mg toprol-xl and 50 mg/2 times a day of flecainide. He also referred me to a specialist in his group dealing with...

I have seen quite a few threads about how long tissue and mechanical valves will last. I recently had my mitral valve repaired (02/21/07) and was curious to see how long VR members MV repairs have lasted. I have seen information about some repairs that didn't last very long but don't feel I...

Wow - this is my 1st post surgery thread! Typing that even seems strange. I got home this morning from the hospital. I am probably feeling what a lot of you have felt after your surgery....just so grateful. Grateful for wonderfully skilled surgeons (esp Dr William Ryan); grateful for having...

I am a new member to this web site and have been really impressed with the amount of valuable information shared at this site. I wanted to know if any of the members have what's termed 'familial MVP' and have the kind of family history I do! I am one of 10 children of which 7 of us have been...