Dan's Journal

Three weeks ago I was waking up in ICU with a new aortic valve from Edwards. Ten days later a trip to the ER (Aflutter) resulting in 3 days in the hospital. ...Read more

Well I hit my first bump. Sunday my heart started (150 bpm) racing and they invited me to the ER at Duke that afternoon. I was in A Flutter, a cousin of A ...Read more

This is day two for me at home. Yesterday all I did was do my exercises and nap. I ate and took my pills also. I have read from others the nap is... Read more

I would like to thank all the well wishers, it means a lot. I showed up at the Cat lab Wed morning at 8:30. I was lucky both my surgeon and interventional ...Read more

I spoke with a dietitian about what was best to eat. She recommended a high protein diet after surgery with a low sodium. She provided a target of 1.5 grams ...Read more

Dealing with the first wake up after surgery and the tubes. I read Adam’s 2009 tube story “When I Wake Up In The ICU, How Many Tubes Will Be Sticking Out Of Me?” I spoke with one friend who said the only way he did not pull out the ventilator tube was a great ICU nurse. Another person had to be restrained to keep from pulling them out. Two questions 1) 1) In Adam’s story he states that “I was one of the lucky ones that woke up with the vent tube in place.” This implies there are some unlucky people who wake you with it removed. What are the odds of a person being unlucky when they wake up?2)

2) If you are lucky and it is in, any words to how best to deal with it? Thanks, Dan

I plan on sleeping on this and maybe have a glass of wine to and do some deep thinking. When I make the “final” decision I will update My Valve Story. I had my CT today and met with my surgeon. First, I like to thank the many that weighed in on SAVR first then TAVR when we get our next one. I was mentally prepared when that was tossed out, that is a lot better then hearing it for the first time. I was hoping for the recommendation of TAVR. However, many of you have said in a nice way, “son that is not going to happen”. Again, preparing me mentally for the statement and when it came out, I did not fight. Also thank you to everyone else who made comments or simply had My Valve Stories that I used in my decision journey. Though TAVR after TAVR are taking place there are no guarantee of success. He mentioned the Russian Doll toy scenario as an issue if successful with the TAVR-TAVR. Also, if you need to remove a TAVR to replace it with a SAVR that is a much more difficult surgery with higher failure (lovely term) rates. And he stated I am young and can get through SAVR and in 10 to 15 years I will not be young any more and will need the TAVR. It has been a while since young was used to describe me, ask my kids! The good news (yes, I find humor in that line for a procedure that stops your heart 😊) the CT showed it was only my valve that is an issue. This makes me eligible for Minimally Invasive MI-ARV, see below: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8024828/ When I was preparing, I came across the above and another article. Not as easy as TARV but not cracking me completely open. Has anyone gone through this procedure? Where I sit today is MI-ARV scheduled for March 22. The CAT will be done the day before and if it shows SARV is required to fixed other issues we will switch. Given everything, he has seen on the tests so far, he is not expecting anything. My surgeon does 100 valve replacements annually. He does SAVR and TAVR. He has five glowing reviews on here dating back to 2009, so he has been at it a long time. I like the impression he made and the attention he paid to my questions. My wife was with me and she is also very comfortable with him. Has anyone used him? Duke is not Heart Hospital list; however, they are in the top 25 by US News. Has anyone use them? Thank you all for your support on this decision journey. I now have my 20 to 30 year plan put together. Step 1 to 48 is to continue to exercise and prepare. Step (day) 49 is to get it replaced and sleep through to process. Keep on Ticking, Dan

Has anyone found clear information about the durability of the the valves them self. I found a lot about life expectancy of the patient but missed anything ...Read more

I made progress this afternoon on my path. I have a CT scheduled 2/2 then a meeting with the surgeon.

The CT is:

CT TAVR PROTOCOL INC CTA CHEST ...Read more

Chain 2: Looking for others who might be in a like position or were in a like position. I am 63 and will need my valve replaced. I believe the general ...Read more

Chain 1: First, I would like to thank all you that provided questions as well as the information on this site. I was prepared for my first meeting, but the ...Read more

Chain 2: Looking for others who might be in a like position or were in a like position. I am 63 and will need my valve replaced. I believe the general ...Read more