Comments on: “Will My Husband’s Heart Valve Click?” Asks Jodi

By: Peter G.

Peter G. — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:24:31 +0000

Thank you all for your comments and evaluations. Heading into surgery on Tuesday and still am undecided on the type of valve. I would like to talk to my surgeon again before I make a decision. I guess all of us repond differently and perhaps the valves even function differently in each person. I am glad all are doing well. Continued health.

Peter G.

By: Kashina Newsome

Kashina Newsome — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 04:03:22 +0000

Hi,My name is Kashina Newsome and I had a mitral valve replaced own october 21, 2009 and I got a mechanical valve and the clicking noise is very loud and annoying.I feel down sometime when my kids say momma that is a very loud noise we here. I wish I didn’t have to here the sound but I can say i’m blessed to be here with my 3 kids my blood pressure dropped so they had to get in a hurry and sew me up so I say again i’m blessed.I just wish it was something they could do about the clicking sound and by the way I am 31 years of age. Hope to here from you guys soon.

By: jeff stoveken

jeff stoveken — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:44:40 +0000

i had a st judes aortic valve installed in 9/08 and i hear clicking as well. its actually comforting to me to know its working .i used to hear thumping also but that went away for the mostpart. it took me 3 months to get level on coumadin.diet and activity kept changing it.has anyone been able to see the heartbeat in their eyes? jeffstoveken@yahoo.com for any advice or questions, thanks,jeff

By: Midge

Midge — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:35:08 +0000

Just had a mechanical valve implanted 2/13/09 and could not be happier with the choice. I have NO clicking noise and only “feel” my heartbeat in various parts of my body when I lay down to sleep. For only 2 weeks out, I feel very good…walking 30 min. a day and doing the breathing exercises help. Coumadin is a new adventure in my life but it is running pretty stable these first two weeks around 2.65-2.9. Since I am on Medicare and they approve the in-home testing machine, will hopefully got for that in the future. I am a 67 yr old female who owns a manufacturing company and in my normal life get plenty of walking and lifting exercise so that may have made this surgery easier. But I chose the mechanical valve so that I would not have to do this again in my lifetime and after the surgery, it only confirmed that I made the right decision.
Midge

By: Eliane Jean-Philippe

Eliane Jean-Philippe — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 05:04:30 +0000

I had a mechanical valve replacement in august 27, 2009 and currently taking warfarin a type of (caumodin) when i left the hospital i was on 5 mg now i am taking 12 mg because my blood level is 1.6. and I too can hear the clicking day and night and so does my family and friends. any movement I make such as go up the stairs you can hear it clicking like a time bomb ready to explode that’s how loud it is. and lately i get short of breath, my chest itch, and sore at the same time. And if I’m having a confrontation with someone I get short of breath and lifgt headed I feel tired.

By: Jeremi E

Jeremi E — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 15:43:28 +0000

I had my second valve replacement surgery in December at the University of Michigan hospital. I am 30 years old and had the Ross procedure done when I was 17. I now have a mechanical valve and it is pretty loud. Being that I am all ready an anxious person I have a real hard time falling asleep at night. I have a check-up in a few weeks so I’ll tell my doctor about it and see if they can raise my INR which is only around a 2 right now. Hopefully I get used to it.

By: George S

George S — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:06:57 +0000

Not to worry about having an MRI with a mechanical heart valve. If the doctor should ever inadvertently prescribe one, the MRI facility will have you complete a long questionnaire, which always asks about implants and metal. They will not let you undergo an MRI. Most times the MRI Tech will ALSO ask about implants after the questionnaire and before the procedure. They have this covered.

By: Dan Miller

Dan Miller — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:36:16 +0000

Just a quick word about mechanical valves that can save a life. I received a mechanical valve in 1989 at the age of 16. In 2007, I had endocarditise and had to have aortic (and pulmonary) valve replacement. Before the June 2007 surgery they wanted to do an MRI. I had the doctor check to make sure my mechanical valve would be able to go through an MRI. IT WOULD NOT!!! To this day, I imagine what could have happened, if I had not asked. If you have a mechanical aortic valve, have your doctor check and make sure it can go through an MRI.

By: Marty

Marty — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:01:49 +0000

I had mine replaced in 1980 a Bjory Shiley and have lived with the ticking you get used to it and it’s not like it’s even there.

By: Michael Lupo

Michael Lupo — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 01:19:14 +0000

My name is Mike and I had my valve replaced by Dr Alan D Hilgenberg at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
I had a Bovine Pericadial valve implanted in the aortic position on Feb 3rd 2006. I was 41 at the time. I was also the recipient of a shiny brand new dacron graft replacing the first 3 inches of my ascending aorta. The arch was not involved (thankfully). I do not have marfans. Like many of those who have already posted here, I had a decision to make. Fully mechanical and a life of coumadin and the lifestyle that comes with being coumadin dependent OR a bio-prosthetic and a daily regimen of asprin…and have the valve re-replaced after x years.
My decision to go with the bio prosthetic was based on the fact that I did not want to live having my blood drawn each month to monitor my blood “thinness”. Also, I am an avid off piste skiier and if I were to encounter an injury like a femur fracture on the mountain, i might bleed to death internally. So my lifestyle also played a part in my decision.

My cardiologist decided recently to put me on Crestor (a statin) to lower my cholesterol. My cholesterol was already in the normal range but studies have suggested that a lower cholesterol will lengthen the life of a bioprosthetic valve. Something to the tune of 20 years. I am hopeful but unfortunately, the outcome of this study will rely on the statistics set by mine and other’s prostethic valve failure. Keeping my fingers crossed and my hopes up…

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me. My email is mikelupo AT aol dot com. I’m more than glad to assist in any way that I can.