Recent content by dtread

As a veteran of open heart surgery I'd recommend you listen to the surgeon. Its not an experience you want to put yourself through any more than necessary. Once is more than enough.

Contrary to what was indicated despite considerable research I have never seen any precautions about Coumadin/Warfarin regarding exercise other than to avoid high risk or contact sports. I would agree with Pellicle's statement. No reason that you have to become a couch potato if you're taking...

Just finished Robby Benson’s book “I’m Not Dead…Yet”, by Robby Benson, Valor Editions, 2012, ISBN 978-0-615-41873-5. The book is available as an ebook through valoreditions.com and in paperback. As described on the back cover of the book: “A riveting medical memoir. Actor/Writer/Director Robby...

Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, MD uses da Vinci for cardiac surgery; https://www.adventisthealthcare.com/WAH/services/surgical/

Babshappy, not sure how it works in Canada. But in the U.S.A. if you are over 65 years old or otherwise eligible for Medicare the INR testers, strips, etc are considered Durable Medical Equipment (DME) by Medicare and are covered under Medicare (similar to Diabetes testers). In fact, INR...

You need to be very careful not to overdo it. Particularly in the first six months to a year post-op. Strongly recommend that you wear a heart rate monitor so you can monitor your heart rate when exercising. Particularly when doing cardiovascular workouts such as jogging, bicycling, rowing...

Have had my On-X six years and valve noise has never been a problem. Soft tapping that I can hear when in a real quiet room. Does not bother me at all.

Ovie, couple of things helped me: - Within a couple of days of release from hospital I got a good massage. Right after surgery I could not exercise and my body was loaded with residual medications, IV fluid, etc. The massage simulated an exercise session and helped get all the medical junk out...

WalkidianNY, I doubt the tilting disc valve would be mistaken for vegetation. But, your doctor(s) should be aware that you have a tilting disc valve and will take that into consideration in diagnosing your situation and in recommending treatment for your condition. The blood flow across the...

Might be what is called "pannus". Its a growth that can happen around or on a prosthetic heart valve. If your mitral valve does have pannus growth its probably advisable to remove the old valve and replace with new valve along with your aortic valve. That, plus the fact that the valve is 26...

Make sure to factor in Open Heart Surgery (OHS) recovery time into your overall conditioning plan if you're going with tissue valves. Based on my experience I figure roughly a year to get back to near 100% of pre-op conditioning for each OHS. That is what it took me. Repeat OHS to avoid...

More info on his heart problem would have been nice. Sounds like he had clogged arteries from bad diet along with valve problem. His diet sounded really bad. He should go for profanity reduction training. I would certainly agree that modern mechanical valves are quite amazing. The type of...

JimCA, I got mechanical at 58 to avoid having to undergo a reoperation when I'm older. So far I'm glad I made that choice. I had a rough recovery. After the surgery I had to get an endoscopy (the anesthetic shut down my intestines), then a blood transfusion, then I had heart block and had to get...

RobThatsMe, what Clyde is saying really applies to anyone, not just those 65 and younger. In the past there was an unwritten dividing line; i.e., for those over a certain age (it has usually been expressed as 65) the general preference was for tissue and for those that were younger the general...

Edwards made mechanical heart valves many years ago. Edwards did not make mechanical heart valves for use in the U.S.A. in April 2012. Unless you got one of their old ones that had been sitting on the shelf for ten years or longer? You would have had to have had it installed somewhere other...