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TLB123

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 20, 2007
Messages
47
Location
Massachusetts
Hi
I am 9 months post op MVR. I have been felling pretty good a few minor bumps in the road. I recently had an echo done, and the MV looks good. The one thing that got my attention on the report was a comment about moderate aortic valve insufficency. I have never been told about this by my cardio. Is this a common thing after MVR surgery? I'm not stressing about it, but wonder why my cardio woudn't say anything.

Thanks
Tara
 
Can't say, but i guess we all have more than one problem.

I had bav needing avr but in my final report it mentioned my mitral valve having issues....minor ones but issues.

Cardio recon's most will dissappear when the heart shrinks post surgery.

I'm with you, nothing to stress about.
 
Tara, I'm sure your cardio is keeping track of what is going on, but I always ask for a copy of my echos for my own file. Post op my echos showed trace regurgitation in my pulmonary and tri-cuspid valves. I'm sure that my heart has had to deal with lots of pressure changes due to the new aortic valve.
 
Bina said:
I'm sure that my heart has had to deal with lots of pressure changes due to the new aortic valve.


Bina, funny, but this is exactly what I told my cardio when my "old" mechanical MV started malfunctioning a year after my AVR in 2006. It just seemed odd to me that when the surgeon went in to switch out my old "cooley-cutter aortic valve" he didn't switch out the "old" mitral valve as well. The explanation I got from was that the mitral valve was working all right so he opted not to change it out, even though the valve was 31 years old!!!! My cardio says that pannus growth (scar tissue) in & around the mitral is what is causing it to malfunction. I guess I'll never get a straight answer & so in the meantime....... I wait!
 
Bina,
I haven't asked him about it. I assumed it had something to do with having to keep up with the new mitral valve. It just grabs your attention when you read the echo report and see the words moderate aortic insufficency. It turns out it is a little more pronounced than the echo I had in August of last year.

I usually don't stress about much, but when I was diagnosed in 2000, I was told I could go my whole life and never have symptoms or complications of this heart disease. Then in 2006, when I really started to feel horrible and found out I had to have OHS. I started to stress...lol. I had never even been talked to about valve replacement. I just hope the aortic moderate insufficency stays just that, moderate.

Thanks for your comments. This site is amazing!! It helped answer many questions when I was recovering. I wish I had found it before my surgery.
Tara
 
I am one of those who will probably always worry about my other valves....especially since my very first diagnosis at age 20 was that I had a prolapsed mitral valve. I was well into my thirties before more symptoms appeared. My doc checked further and found it was a stenotic aortic valve.
Yup, that was not one of my better days in life.....:(
I'm going to continue to request echos every 18 months, and be very grateful that we now have more information and better techniques to keep us all going.
 
When you start to think about the anatomy of the heart it makes sense that mitral valve disorders can serve to lessen the workload of the left ventricle and the aortic valve. The net effect of a insufficient mitral valve or a stenotic mitral valve is a reduction of force entering the left ventricle. Your aortic valve is now under more stress since the mitral valve is functioning properly. It may just need more time to adjust to its new environment. I'm sure your doctor will monitor it over time with your regular echoes.

I'm glad to hear everything else is doing well. It is nice to have it behind you I know.
 
TLB123 said:
Hi
I am 9 months post op MVR. I have been felling pretty good a few minor bumps in the road. I recently had an echo done, and the MV looks good. The one thing that got my attention on the report was a comment about moderate aortic valve insufficency. I have never been told about this by my cardio. Is this a common thing after MVR surgery? I'm not stressing about it, but wonder why my cardio woudn't say anything.

Thanks
Tara

You have a legitimate Question about the report,
one which your Cardio should answer.

Bottom Line: Ask Him.

'AL Capshaw'
 
I agree with Al. These medical people get paid to take care of us medically, and part of that care is to answer your questions. Don't be afraid to ask questions, and insist on getting answers.
 

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