Penelope's Guestbook

Penelope, I know your surgery went well - and I wish you the best in your recovery and healing. Sorry I didn't get this note to you before your surgery. Four weeks ago I had similar surgery. Each week you'll be doing better. Thoughts and prayers - Wayne

I hope you are lucky enough to never need surgery! So far, so good. It is a hard decision, but I went with the bovine tissue valve. I was 63 at surgery, and I hope to get 20 yrs out of it. Maybe a little optimistic??? Then if I need a TAVR rescue, that will be the route. I wish you many years of "good" check ups!

Penelope. Greetings! Glad you had such great experiences at Duke! Great place! I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve and have had a murmur all my life. I'm 61. About 10 years ago my physician heard a change in the murmur and I have been seeing a cardiologist at least once a year for some testing, which later became and echocardiogram and an appointment to discuss the current status and plan with my cardiologist. This year my cardiologist suggested I plan to get a consultation with a heart valve surgeon, and he had specific qualifications he thought both the valve center and the valve surgeon should meet. I have in my history a traumatic brain injury, which greatly complicates things. So after ten years of repeated testing, etc., and wondering when, my when has arrived. I learned just two days ago that my surgery is scheduled for July 31 with three days of tests and procedures before the surgery. Now that the time is here, I am actually glad to get this taken care of, recuperate, and not wonder every year. I am planning to have a tissue valve if amenable to my testing and surgeon. My cardiologist does not think it would be wise for me to be on long term anticoagulation because I already have brain damage that flares up from time to time. For a period of time I was having vertigo and balance problems and was falling multiple times a day. Thankfully that is no longer the case. My hope is that should I need to have the tissue valve replaced, the research now being done on TAVR or something like it will be advanced enough to place a new tissue valve where the "old" one was. I know some work is being done in that direction already. I do not see where anyone would choose to do anything more invasive than necessary, but each of us is unique and what is the best choice for one is perhaps not the best for another. It certainly sounds as though you are in good hands, although I greatly doubt your wait will be as long as mine has been, but who knows? My very best to you,

Hi Penelope I went through this process five years ago. I am still a very active 63 year old farmer that does triathlons and marathons along with full time farming. My only restriction is I don't do obstacle races for fear of bad bruises or injuries. With the mechanical valve I just try to eat a consistent diet to match my coumiden dosage. I will not forego my green leafy vegetables fresh from the garden. I recently was diagnosed with sleep apnea and now use a c-pap machine and really miss hearing the tick of the mechanical valve at night. You can search my name on this site for my story as it was before heart valve journals. My doctor told me after an interview that I would of wore out a tissue valve in no time. I also home test every week for my INR. Lots of prayers and good luck

Hi Penelope - this is M responding to your question why am i going for a mechanical valve. I am 66 and my parents lived well into their nineties. I was very active before my bicuspid valve caught up with me. I am going with mechanical because i dont want to go through major surgery into my seventies and then eighties. i would prefer to limit the amountof surgery i undergo to minimal. I have met people who are on warfarin for other reasons (my brother had thrombosis) and i think i could handle that better than having to undergo surgery. hope this helps. love m