Recent content by Franklin

Yes, this is normal. I had my OHS in 2010 and my doctors always comment on how they can hear my sternum clicking. I personally don't hear it but my doctor assured me it's normal and there's nothing dangerous about it.

Sorry got busy at work and didn't reply until now. Dr. Barnard also at NYP Weill Cornell. He's also considered one of the best if not the best cardios in NYC.

Leonard Girardi at NYP Cornell. He did my AVR when I was 31. I had the same situation as you - bicuspid since birth, told at 31 I needed surgery. Len Girardi does more AVRs than any other doctor in the world and is a specialist in AVR. The entire staff and Dr. Girardi's team at NYP Cornell...

Hi Limbtwister - what's your experience with lifting weights. My cardiologist says not to lift too much weight, which is fine, but I'm curious as to what your weightlifting regimen is. I had a BAV replacement with 31mm St Jude in January 2011 and aortic root replacement at the same time.

I didn't experience any cognitive impairment (that I can tell) and the doctors did a full chest crack on me. I wasn't even aware that such a thing happened until I read about it here.

Congrats Marc! Take it easy and try not to worry - they're going to take great care of you.

Do you know that this is an extra hard heartbeat or whether it's the valve clicking that's making you feel like it's a hard heartbeat? I can definitely feel my heartbeat when I put my hand on my chest but figured it was just the mechanical valve opening/closing.

Hmm. So it sounds like it's not all that much more convenient and that it's expensive. Thanks for the feedback. I guess the next call is to my insurance company. How much blood do you need to put on the test strips? Is it like diabetic testing?

Hello VR community. Hope everyone is doing well. :) After being on Coumadin for 9 months (mechanical valve) I'm finally looking into doing my INR testing at home. What are your experiences with home testing? Which brand of home testing machines is good and which should I avoid? Are there...

I'm on both Metoprolol and Warfarin after AVR in January and love apple cider vinegar on collard greens...have not had any interactions with either drug...even the collard greens don't seem to have affected INR levels too much. Check with your doctor though obviously.

Thanks very much for the replies Bill and Bryan. I figured that the theory sort of made sense. It’s nice to know that there are others that have experienced HBP after the surgery – I’m going to check with my cardiologist about upping my metoprolol or maybe my losartan because I’m looking...

Dave, I had the surgery in January and I know it's a nerve-wracking time. You will be fine and your surgeon will take good care of you. I know it's hard to do, but try to think about how great it's going to be to wake up after the surgery and be on the other side of it!

Hello everyone, it's been a while since my last post, but I'm now 3 months post surgery and am doing well. Back at work and am going to the gym (lightly). My past few checkups have been good, both my cardiologist and physician say that everything sounds good, although my first post surgery...

Thanks, that's good advice. I think they overdid it it on the atenolol, and my heart rate dropped below 50bpm a couple times last night. They've switched me to lopressor and I'm doing fine now, back up to 65-70bpm... just going to continue to take it easy, walk the halls of the Helmsley tower...

So my AVR surgery on the 6th went well and I'm being discharged from New York Presbyterian tomorrow! Can't say enough good things about Dr Girardi and his team, the nurses, and the facilities here. I think the surgery was only about 4 hours with no problems. I was conscious and had the...