Recent content by TomM

Hi @Cormac_1989. I find a home INR checker useful. It was a year after surgery that I started using one. Up to then I tied into a hospital warfarin clinic to keep a check on my INR levels. @ckeogh It's homely to see some Irish like myself on here.

In January 2020 I had a regular appointment with my cardiologist who noted my ascending aorta was close to the limit for requiring surgery but not needed yet. In late October 2020, at night when all was quiet I could hear an unusual swishing with each heart beat. I asked my wife to put her ear...

It was basically a lifestyle choice. I was 22 at the time and wanted for playing contact sports and to socialize without impediment. I played Gaelic games and though not at a high level I really enjoyed playing. I was given the option of a Ross procedure, homograft or mechanical valve...

I had 4 OHSs, 3 AVRs 1990: valvotomy (I think - I should really find out) 1999: homograft 2004: homograft 2020: mechanical valve including ascending aorta replacement and pacemaker insertion I was relatively fit going into the surgery in 2020 that I think is very beneficial. The noise of...

A physical symptom I noticed was that my gums would get a throbbing pain in them if I exercised too much. For my mental health for the surgeries I had I found that my faith and prayer gave me strength. This might not be for you I appreciate but it is for me

Thanks Lynn, the cardiac rehabilitation nurse was to pass on the information to my cardiologist regarding the upper 140 BPM limit. My situation is a bit more complicated as after the surgery I have a fistula between two chambers of my heart. The cardiac rehabilitation nurse was of the opinion it...

I had a mechanical valve installed in November 2020. Surgery went well but a week later while in hospital recovering my pulse dropped to 23 BPM. I spent a night trying not to sleep for fear of the worst until I was moved to a cardiac critical care ward. The surgeon told me I would need a...

"Her doctors say she only really got one option, a mechanical valve, due to her young age" - I think I would take the doctors advice. I'm thinking there could be more factors involved than your daughters age. You should question this. Why I say this is that I was offered a tissue valve...

I found it very difficult to tell people about my heart condition and OHS when I was a teenager. At that age, I could get by without my condition being noticable. If you can share with people around you the details of your heart condition you might find some good people to share your life...

I have a loud thumping from my repaired heart (mechanical aortic valve, Dacron to repair ascending aorta and a pacemaker) I had an echo done 4 months after surgery after I said it to my cardio who then noticed on the echo what he called a fistula between two chambers of my heart. He thinks...

I had my 4th OHS in 2020 and had a mechanical valve inserted. I had a homograft previously. For warfarin, like others I find setting a daily alarm sticking to that time works well as well as using a weekly pill box. I attended a warfarin clinic in the hospital where I had the surgery for about a...

I had a homograft AVR at 17 years old. It lasted 5 years. I choose another homograft AVR at 22 that lasted 16 years. It corresponds somewhat I think with the data in @pellicle's post. Without any proof, only my own intuition, I put the homograft I had at 17 lasting 5 years down to teenage (and...

After OHS in November 2020 I noticed my heartbeat seemed louder. I had an echo done the following April and the cardiologist saw that after the surgery I had a fistula between two chambers of my heart. He put the louder heartbeat down to this.

I saw that article, it's interesting. Yesterday I also saw this article which sounds promising for surgeries in general https://t.co/P3tpDGxDRk

Hi Chuck. It's really my own estimation of my situation. Not doctor's orders. I've a pacemaker installed also since the last AVR. I went to cardiac rehab about two weeks ago for the first time since the surgery and done a step test. The physio said I was not able to break out into a run as yet...