First time visitor

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Valve Replacement Forums

Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
R

readsforfun

My first time here. Am looking at AVR soon. Having heart catherization on Mon., 1/15 with AVR and surgeon to be scheduled after. Needless to say, am very, very frightened. I've voraciously been reading everything I could find - just found this site within past couple of days. It has been a veritable wealth of info. Am 64 and concerned about which valve would be best; am leaning toward mechanical as definitely do not want to go through this again.
Any advice?
 
You gotta be kiddin'... :rolleyes:

If you are interested in information fast, you can tour the Valve Selection forum. Then you can use the advanced search function (from the search function on the tool bar above) to look for keywords that you think will bring you information. Be aware that some discussions of valve type on the site can get heated, but the information that shows up is valuable to anyone who is truly interested. This is almost undoubtedly the best source site for heart valve replacement information and support anywhere.

Frightened is normal where you are right now. With an occasional side dish of terrified. Most of us have been there, and can truly empathize with that.

However, the reality is not as bad as your imagination is picturing it. And the odds are excellent that you'll come through quite well. Keep us in the loop as to your progress, ask any specific questions that you develop, and feel free to let out a lot of your pending OHS angst among the many here who will truly be able to appreciate it.

Best wishes,
 
Wecome, Don't be frightened and do everthing Bob says to do.Haha. Just kidding, although Bob is one of our expert posters, he will give you some valuable information to help you make your decision easier. Welcome again and don't be afraid, you are out of the dark.
 
Scared? You betcha. We all have been there, too. You have some days left to catch up on your reading and this is what this site is all about. We are informed, friendly and supportive. If you ask a question somebody or maybe everybody will have answers for you. Now that you are here, you will see that we are survivors. The trip up the mountain was easy for most, not so easy for others, but we are all on the good side of that mountain - just for you. Welcome to VR. Tobago gave you great advice. Read, read, read. Ask, too.

Most seem to have a favorite valve selection and swapped 'words', but you can filter through and glean what you need.
 
Welcome to this wonderful community. Your cath will tell your prospective surgeon a lot. You will want to go into your first consultation with the surgeon armed with questions about your valve choice. The valve you two choose together will probably be one that he has had the most experience using, or that he feels best suits your particular brand of need. It is always advisable to have a second choice if, once they get in there, they find that your first choice is not so good a match.

This is an amazing procedure. You will be fine!! We have several Florida people here who will probably be chiming in soon. They might be familiar with your hospital or doctors. Please use your own professionals to get all the real information. Use us to manufacture the questions and sort of pad the knowledge they give you. Any time you have a new question, start a new thread with the particulars of it. You will get more responses that way.

We can be a fiesty bunch, but you won't find a more caring, receptive, responsive place during this very stressful time. We're here 24/7!! Use us!!

:D Marguerite
 
I didn't catch that you were from Florida. Where are you from in Florida and whats your first name so that we might address you correctly? I am fro Orlando anyways, Welcome again.
 
Welcome, Readsforfun! You will find lots to read here, though not all of it is fun... A great deal of it can be helpful though. Glad you found this site before your AVR! Happily, I did too; but there are some here who post pretty regularly who didn't locate the site until after their surgeries.

Tobagotwo's first line of his reply to you was related to a heated "thread" that was going on in the Valve Selection forum recently. It was quite an animated and passionate debate and a lot of us Valvers had to toss our opinions in.

Read more! Have fun! Ask your questions! Take care!
 
Welcome to the site. We are snowbirds, so Dick had his surgery in Boston. What part of FL are you in. We know of one person here who had a repair at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston. You will find a wealth of information and support here. Just read and ask away and let us know how you make out with the cath.
 
Welcome - I hope you find lots of useful information here. I know you'll find lots of support.
 
Welcome to the Forum! You say you are 64 and trying to decide on type of valve. I was 63 at the time of my surgery two years ago. I agonized over a choice, and weighed the pros and cons. I choose as my "signature" below indicates -- and I am very happy with the results so far, but I am not lobbying for that choice for you. It is a very personal decision, but there is a heap of info (and opinion) on here to help you sort it out, as Tobagotwo indicated.

Again, a hearty welcome to you (no pun intended)....
 
Welcome and good luck with your surgery.

You have a more difficult choice than most as you could choose any of the available valves both mechanical or tissue and whatever you decided upon would be the right choice.

Tissue valves are USUALLY not the best choice for younger patients such as myself as they require definate re-operations although they do allow you to lead a slightly more normal life with regards to contact sports and alcohol.

Ask your doc how long he thinks you would get out of a tissue valve at your age, i'd make an guess that he'd expect 20+ years out of it, as for mechanical yes, you'd get much longer but you would have to take coudamin and have regular blood tests to make sure your blood levels ok.

As stated before, the only bad choice is not to make a choice.

To comply with recent 'protocol' i'd like to add that the above is purely my uneducated opinion...:D
 
Welcome to our world Reader

One of the best introductions to the whole Valve Replacement issue is the recent thread entitled "newly diagnosed' started by michellep (who is having her surgery Friday I believe).

FWIW, I am close to your age and have chosen the On-X Mechanical Valve for my next surgery. It comes close to Tissue Valves in performance but has the potential for lasting 'forever' (several lifetimes anyway). Studies are underway to evaluate NO or LOW Anticoagulation with this valve. In the mean time, you benefit from improved fluid dynamics, less turbulence, and a LOW propensity of Clot formation compared with older mechanical valves. It has been in use worldwide for 10 years and 5 years in the USA.

SO, Read Away, Learn, and feel free to ask any questions as they come to mind. ENJOY !

'AL Capshaw'
 
Hello and welcome...Frightened???? You don't know what frightened is..Last year at this time it was me in your shoes. Went for a routine check up in November and found out I needed open heart surgery. I honestly do not think anyone could be more scared than I was . Like I posted once, I was so scared that it was scary to be be so scared. I was also 64.
I had surgery in January. The surgeon was able to repair my mitral valve. And by the first week of April I was back at work chasing after first graders. I am fine and you will be fine too. It is scary but the wonderful people on this site will help you get through it.
Keep us posted and come here anytime for support.
 
Welcome! :)

Another Floridian here, I live smack in between Daytona and St. Augustine. Had my surgery done in Gainesville, where are you from??

All will be good, it's very normal to be scared :)
 
Welcome to the forum!
I put you on our VR Calendar (up at the top of the page) so everyone will keep you in their thoughts on the 15th!
You'll do great, so just relax and keep on reading!
 
Welcome to the community. OHS is a scary thing and being frightened is normal. However, you'll find lots of information and support here to help you through this. Pretty much everyone here has either been through it, knows somebody very dearly who has been through it, or is on the way to being through it. From this side of the mountain, I can honestly say it was not nearly as bad as I feared. Learn all you can, not just about the medical stuff, but also the experience so you are well prepared and have good knowledge of what to expect.

I can't help you with valve selection as I was a repair not a replace, but there's lots of information and opinions on the subject here that's for sure. However, as a neutral bystander on the subject the main thing is to make as informed a decision as possible that you are comfortable with and then get yourself fixed up. I've come to the conclusion the only bad choice is not making the choice.

Good luck.
 
Hi.....

Hi.....

*Just wanted to welcome you to this wonderful site. Im sure you will get ALL the information you need to help you with whats ahead. The more you learn the more confident you will become....and there is '' L O T S '' of info and support here. Welcome. ...:cool: Jacqui.
 
Incredible Response!

Incredible Response!

I am absolutely amazed at the number of responses and the warmth and generosity of everyone. This site is phenomenal and all of you have certainly encouraged me and given me a lot more to look at and consider. Thank you all so very,very much. I will DEFINITELY get into the forum on "valve choice" and do some more "reading".

To answer some of you, I am a resident of Sarasota and will be going to Sarasota Memorial Hospital. It is reported to have a wonderful reputation for heart surgeries. Nice to know there are other "Floridians" here.

Thanks again to all!!

"Jan" - readsforfun
 
welcome

welcome

I'll add my welcome also. I've learned so much here, it's scary! If you read as many of the posts as you can, when you visit the surgeon, you'll know everything that's about to be said before he says it...I did!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top