Search results

Hello all. Well...my "attendance" has been very poor the last year or so, so unfortunately have not seen much of the recent conversations. But after taking a quick look, it appears no one has brought this up here yet, so let me try to do my best in limited time...

On-X posted this last week, authored by the PROACT Lead Investigator (John Puskas - Emory) among others. The numbers are pretty astonishing: Dennis Nichols MD of Tacoma, Washington, USA will present, “Prevalence of Risk Factors and Low Response to Antiplatelet Medications in the Prospective...

I'm not a fan of the Miami Heat, nor of the NBA that much either for that matter, but I'm a basketball junkie at heart, so I always at least tune in every year to the last few series of the playoffs. Probably even non sports fans have seen the headlines everywhere today of the triumphant...

Life expectancy questions seem to come up fairly often here, including a few recent threads, so I thought it would be good to add some contemporary research and evidence to the discussion. While the information here is strictly focused on those with Bicuspid Aortic Valve (since it's the most...

We're lucky here to have the perspective and input of a few "veterans" who had a valve replacement 10, 20, and even 40+ years ago. They sometimes share very enlightening stories of just how different the surgery was then, as well as the related treatments such as ACT. Now, certainly the...

I'm going to venture a guess that IF I were to conduct a poll, and ask everyone here if they were granted 3 wishes related to the future of heart valves - what they would be, that the final tally might include one or more of the following: 1. Mechanical valve that requires no ACT 2. Tissue...

I saw a few threads from a few years ago that discussed this, but just thought I'd bring it up again to benefit any newly diagnosed BAV members. Most everyone probably knows that BAV is a genetic condition that can affect more than one member of a given family, although it can skip generations...

Have you ever wondered what goes on in the mind of a heart surgeon? Wondered if the day-to-day chores with someone's life in their hands ever becomes monotonous? Wonder if they will be (or were) at their very best when it's your surgery, your heart? I think the vast majority of us would agree...

I happened upon an exhaustive explanation today of the ThermaFix treatment used in the Edwards Magna valves, including a case study in valve testing, so just thought I'd post, in case anyone else is interested. For what it's worth, depending on your personality or perspective, this may either...

Getting an opportunity to "chat" with world class surgeons from the comfort of your own home is a pretty amazing thing, I think, and for those not aware, it's something that the Cleveland Clinic does every few months, in the form of online webchats. I saw a recent one posted, and just thought...

So, a few weeks ago was my 1 year “anniversary”. I’m generally not big on celebrations, so you know, part of the reason why I am late announcing. I think “surgical anniversary” may also be the wrong way of looking at things, a little too clinical sounding, and just not quite in the spirit of...

I'm curious if anyone with a pacemaker has ever had a similar experience: I had my second 6-month pacemaker appointment (interrogation, download, etc) recently and have had a mild soreness in the area of my heart ever since. It's nothing dramatic, I hardly notice it most of the time, but there...

I'm pretty new around here, and just noticed in the stats how many active members there actually are. Over 1,500 is pretty impressive. I don't know any of the history of this site, but looks like it started in 2001. I assume the initial membership was very small. Now, in addition to the...

I thought I’d share some random bits of information on aortic aneurysms that I’ve gathered the past year, pre and post surgery. There is a lot of great information on this site already, but some of it seems to be changing, and hopefully this will also help put a lot of odds and ends regarding...

So I'm relatively new here, and one of these days, I will actually get around to creating my signature for posts. I've noticed a few members indicating in their signature line that they are in the Waiting Room, some for 10 years or more. Where does one learn more about this Waiting Room...

Is it just me or are On-X valve recipients overly exuberant about their manufacturer? Does it come with some sort of rewards program? Has the marketing team been stealthily infiltrating users’ passwords on this site for years? Is Cupid the head engineer? Stock options? Is the president of...