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I am 8 months out from having aortic repair and valve replacement. I'll be turning 48 this year. I have a question about resting heart rate and BP meds. I was on Lopressor after my surgery until about 3 weeks ago. I asked my cardiologist if I could go off them because I felt I was having some...

Thanks guys ! :)

Been 4 weeks since my surgery and I am feeling great! Back to driving. I go for long walks and ride my bike a little bit around my neighborhood. Had my follow up visit with my cardiologist yesterday and he said all is well. I'm really amazed at how well I am recovering compared to 15 years ago...

Well, I finally made it out of the hospital after 7 total nights. I actually was discharged on my 5th day, but ended up coming back a few hours later because of high heart rate and some arrhythmia. They increased my beta blocker dose and waited a few days until it calmed down a bit. I got out...

Well, I made it through the easy part- now recovery. I ended up getting a tissue valve and my ascending aorta replaced. So, basically a Bentall procedure with a valve replacement. I had forgotten how extremely tough this process is and being 15 years older doesn't make it any easier. I'm now...

Thank you!

I had a sit-down meeting with Starne's assistant, Bob Sachs, and went over all the questions once again. I decided that my preference would be to replace the mechanical with a tissue valve withe the caveat of letting Starnes make the final call as to what would give me the best outcome. The...

I hope I'm not giving the impression that I (and that most cardio doctors these days) think that mechanical valves are obsolete, have more inherent risk or inferior to bio valves. I'm just gathering information that will help me to make a choice for my specific situation. My mechanical valve has...

Yes Neo , that's the one. Here are the comments from Dr. Stewart that pertain to my situation : Dr. Stewart's opinion on mechanical valves from webinar : "I would say I’d be very careful if I needed a valve replacement to avoid mechanical valves. They’re rapidly approaching extinction, even...

Thanks for your support and input you guys! I very much appreciate it ! :)

Once again some interesting insights. I believe when they do TEVAR they do them in a combined catheter and OR Check out this short doc from a year ago > http://youtu.be/m5DnlWun8oE

I just re-listened to the recent Webinar conducted by Adam Pick and Dr. Allan Stewart conducted here last week. During the Q&A section at the end there was a very interesting question posed and Dr. Stewart's answer really spoke to my situation in a very non-ambigiuos manner. You can here the...

Thank you Duffey!

thanks pellicle!

Thanks for your response pellicle. That info about sizing is great and I will take that up with my surgeon for sure. I guess in my gut I feel that going with the tissue valve seems like a good decision. Maybe in another 30 years Psychic Surgery will solve all these issues. ;) I'm going to...

I just spoke with Dr. Starnes' assistant and he imparted some more information to help my decision making. He said that he believes Starnes would support the decision to go for a tissue valve. Their thinking is that the prevailing trend of doing TEVAR procedures to replace aortic valves will...

I guess ultimately luck is a big factor with either decision. If I stay with the mechanical valve and if that valve ever needs to be replaced then I am guaranteed to have to have OHS. Going with tissue at least gives me the possibility of having TEVAR if it fails. This is really a tough one...

Hey guys - sorry for not including my age and other specifics. I am 48. I had a Ross Procedure in 1999 that failed 6 months later then had the St. Jude Mechanical valve put in with no problems since. The aneurysm seems to be a result of something going wrong near the top suture line of where...

Hello Everyone - I currently have a St. Jude aortic mechanical heart valve that was implanted in 1999 and has been functioning without issue since. A month ago I had a CT scan of my aorta and an aneurysm was detected that is worrisome enough to my surgeon that he is recommending surgery to fix...

a new wrinkle in my story: I asked Starnes if he would consider removing my current mechanical aortic valve and replace that with a tissue valve. He said he could do it. I haven't followed up with further questions yet, such as: would this add additional risk? I love the idea of not being on...