Life Expectancy After Heart Valve Surgery
Blog Topics: Patient Life Expectancy After Heart Surgery; How Long Do Patients Live After Heart Valve Surgery; St. Jude Medical Research
I’m on day three of my work trip through Japan. So far, Tokyo is very impressive and… very crowded! I almost had a panic attack walking through the train stations this morning. So many people! I’ve since learned that Tokyo is one of the most populated cities in the world, with a population over 12 million.
Needless to say, the jet lag is still overwhelming considering I live in Los Angeles. That said, I’ve had some extra, early morning hours to dig through my inbox and answer some questions. I just received an interesting question about life expectancy after heart surgery. It reads, “Adam - Do you know what the life expectancy is for patients after heart valve surgery?”
That is a great question. Unfortunately, it is a very tough question to answer. As for life expectancy after heart valve surgery, it’s almost as difficult to answer, “How long will a mechanical mitral valve last?”
I say that because heart valve surgery is a relatively new area of medicine. Cardiac surgery, bypass operations, etc. have only really been around for thirty or forty years. For this reason, researchers are still developing their datasets as they track the lives of heart valve surgery patients.
However, there is some data about life expectancy after heart surgery that I just found at St. Jude Medicals One Valve For Life Website. According to their research, “the mean age of patients presenting for valve surgery is increasing, as is the life expectancy following valve surgery.”
As the graph above illustrates, the data collected thus far is very encouraging. I say that because, as a double heart valve surgery patient, I want to live as long as humanly possible! I’m just about to complete year two following my aortic and pulmonary valve replacements.
So you know… Last week, I received a very nice email from a patient who had her valve replaced 34 years ago. Yep. You read that right. 34 years!!!
I hope this helps you better understand life expectancy after heart valve surgery.
Keep on tickin,
Adam Pick is a double heart valve replacement patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery, a unique book which integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of an actual heart valve surgery patient.
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December 25th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Adam,
Thanks for the information provided. This helps boost ones confidence and helps a lot. Thanks again. There are no words to explain the confidence one gets.
February 13th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
Adam,
The encouraging information that you provided gave me deep mental peace and certainty that my spouse WILL live long and we will grow old together and play with our grand children.
March 5th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Nagendra, you made me cry. I am crying now………..I hope that I will be able to grow older with my husband and will play with my grand children. I have mechanical valve for 14 years. I am speechless…..but thanks for the article, looks like I am going to live longer.
September 6th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Great website Adam, thanks, imagine all the people you are helping!!
I just found out that I have an insufficient aortic valve with reguritation of blood back into my left ventricle. Right now my symptoms are very mild, but I do have them, and I know at some point in the futrue I will need to undergo the replacement operation. I have read everywhere, and I am confused about life expectancy after valve replacement. Can we patients receive a second valve replacement, after many years of the first replacement working ?? One article said that this surgery is very rare. I would really like to know if I can only expect to live as long as the first original replacement lasts. Thank you, keep it up!!