kristin's Guestbook

HI Kristin:--glad to know that you and your tissue valve are still doing well 1 1/2 years after your surgery. Yes--this is a special community to me also. Chris K

HI Kristin:--glad to know that you and your tissue valve are still doing well 1 1/2 years after your surgery. Yes--this is a special community to me also. Chris K

Wow--home in 4 days! That is great. Now be prepared for good days and sore days during recovery. I recall my sternum hurting a lot too--especially getting in and out of bed or a chair. After all the debated, which way did you go--a mechanical or a tissue valve? Chris K

That is so awesome for your brother! Buen Camino! Now for you ... I pray that your surgery will be textbook and your recovery will be uneventful. Tomorrow will be a new day for you with a fixed heart. God bless and rise up!

Hello Kristin. I am going to be saying prayers for you for a beautiful weather day where you are for your surgery and that you get a decent nights sleep tonight and dream only good, sweet dreams of making it through your surgery tomorrow feeling ready to head into your recovery and healing time knowing this is behind you! I hope you enter into surgery confident of your team and outcome as well! The community here will be thinking of you with best wishes! Take care Heart Sister.

Hope which ever you choose goes great. I am 6 months out of aortic valve replacement. I am 53 and I went with the On-X valve. Doing great and I was back to work in 5 weeks. Best of luck.

Hi Kristin, I have felt your anguish. I learned that I would need a replacement sooner than later in Feb 2014. I had my aorta valve replaced in February 2015 by Dr Lars Svensson at the Cleveland Clinic. I was 60 years old at the time. I asked him what he would do if he was having a replacement and he said a tissue valve. He explained to me that the trend in heart valve replacement over next few year is moving toward replacement through the use of a catheter. And it was with this procedure in mind that he chose a particular size valve for me now. This will allow them to drop a new valve in place without opening up my chest. He felt that they will have perfected this procedure in 12 to 18 years which is the expected life of the valve. They asked me for my final answer as the team was prepping me to be hooked up the the heart and lung machine. I was back to work on a limited bases, 3 weeks after my procedure which after looking back was a little soon. I wish you the best of luck!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear Kristin, I struggled with the same issue, friend - it is a BIG decision!! I saw two doctors. One doctor was pro-mechanical and the other doctor was pro-tissue after I described my lifestyle - I am very active, I eat LOTS of greens. The advantage of never having to have the surgery again with the mechanical valve was appealing to me. Conversely, the thought of taking coumadin and hearing the clicking of the valve did not sit well with me. I too, was so scared - but as I have heard other people state on this blog, any decision you make is the right decision. I will be 51 next week (I just realized that I may not have reached this birthday without my surgery!) I had the BEST experience with Dr. Accola in Orlando. Here's what helped me with my decision: He and his staff spent over an hour talking with me about MY personal lifestyle. He asked me lots of questions about my level of activity on a daily basis and he asked me about my diet. I told him I was quite active, and I really enjoyed salads and many greens. The reason that is important is if you have a diet high in vitamin K (greens) you have to adjust your coumadin frequently. Some doctors make it sound like coumadin is not a big deal - but it is. IF your diet changes, you need to make adjustments to this medicine. For some folks this isn't a big deal, for others it is -I didn't want to have to worry about that. One of the best pieces of advice my surgeon gave me was to try to make the decision based on my lifestyle as it is now. I was wrapped up in this whole idea of "Oh gosh, I don't want to have this surgery again in 10 years, or 12 years or however long" - but there are advances made all the time in this field. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I decided after much prayer and excellent professional input to have the tissue valve on July 17, 2015. Once I finally made that decision, my mind settled and I KNEW it was the right decision for me. You will make the right decision and you have an entire community of loving support right here - whatever decision you make! God Bless you and I am keeping you in my prayers :-)

Kristin i was in the same boat as you i was 50 and needed my mirtal valve replaced i first had a mech valve first i said the same thing you did i told the Dr i was only doing this once boy was i wrong 4 months later i was doing it again because the valve pulled away from my heart and tore the tissue it was bad i almost died so i then recieved the pig valve i can honestly say i haven t felt this good in i don t know how long all i take now is an asprin a day and feel great Good luck to you i will be praying all goes well

Re types of valves I was not given a choice, although the pork, beef and metal versions were discussed. I'm 80 and last year had an Aortic Valve replaced with a bovine valve. In the process, because the Aorta was heavily calcified they had to "sand" it down in order to get the valve to work properly. In that "sanding" process they "interrupted" my normal Sinus rhythm and caused me to now experience periods of Atrial Fibrillation . -which in turn required Warfarin aka Coumadin aka Rat poison to try to prevent future strokes caused by blood clots- As a side note My 25 year old quad. bypass had downsized/collateralized to a single remaining artery - and so while putting in the valve they added another artery I'm no longer a quad but have twin set of arteries, a cow valve and a pacemaker--and I'm alive and well (so far). I'm of the impression that tissue valves are prefered for use in us "old" folks

Hi Kristin! I called the manufacturer of the valves Edwards Lifesciences: www.newheartvalve.com www.edwards.com Okay, a REALLY nice lade called me back: Carla Asta Carla told me the following VITAL information: 1- If you get a mechanical you can never get a tissue 2- They have tested the three tissue valves--human, pig, cow and cow won. 3- The new TAVR technique (Trans-catheter Aortic Valve Replacement) is in clinical trials for younger folks like you (and me--I am 58). There is a chance this procedure will be authorized by FDA in the next couple of years. If true (and it sounds like it is true), you will be able to easily have it replaced in years to come (I am told as an outpatient). Here is the video of TAVR (now only FDA approved for high risk, older patients--average age is 84): http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/heart/patient-education/videos/valve-surgery-faq-videos Click in the gray area of the video Click on TAVR and you can watch how they do the procedure; they maneuver the new valve up an artery into the calcified area and then balloon it open. The Calcification is strong enough to bind the frame of the valve in place--replacement is basically the same procedure. Go with a Bovine valve...God Bless You! Bob

Hi Kristin: It is a dilemma! I had my AVR with a tissue valve 2 years ago at the age of 65 and am doing great. At the time my cardiologist told me that, at 65, I could go either way. He said that generally mechanical valves are recommended for persons under 65 and tissue valves for persons over 65. I too went back and forth and read up on it, including the valuable info on this website. After deciding on the tissue valve, my cardiologist shared with me that if he was in my situation he would have gone with the tissue valve because: these valves are lasting longer than they used to, and by the time I would need a replacement, there would likely be less invasive surgery options such as trans-catheter. He also said that if you have a mechanical valve and it fails down the road, you could not use a less invasive surgery like the trans-catheter option to replace it. In making your decision, you might want to check on the failure rate of mechanical valves (how low is it--I met someone who had to have his replaced) and also the longevity rate for tissue valves in persons in your age group. If I recall correctly, apparently tissue valves don't last as long in younger persons as they do in older persons. And it might be useful to know what percentage of people have problems with blood thinners. For me, personally, I prefer to take as few medications as possible. Although I am healthy now, worry that, with age, more things can go wrong--and the more medications, the more risk of interactions and concern about the ability of the body to handle them. But, as many others have said, this is a very personal decision. Wishing you the best!

Hi Kristin I had a bovine valve put in 2010 at 67 and now at 73 I still work out 6 days a week. I know if you are younger the dr. like mech. valves. I was glad you ask the question about which valve because it is nice to know what valves people pick and why. I know every ones choice is different and read where the tissue valves last a lot longer then was told.

Hi Kristin, I had my aortic valve replaced almost seven years ago when I was 40. My surgery was kind of an emergency as I had an aortic aneurysm that needs prompt attention. I was shown the valve options, but really recall being told by my surgeon that because I was young I would be getting the mechanical valve. Seven years later, I cannot imagine choosing a tissue valve with the knowledge that I would have to go through Open Heart Surgery again. I was a little freaked out by the Coumadin situation at first -- one day shortly after the surgery I was convinced I was going to die because I had a lot of spinach in one day -- but it's really no big deal, and has just become part of my routine. I honestly don't give it much thought, other than taking the pill every day and getting checked every 4-6 weeks. Good luck with your decision and your surgery and recovery. I hope you have lots of family support. Best, Amy

Hi Kristin, I had my mitral valve repaired at CCF and was ecstatic to have a repair vs. replacement. That was short-lived as I found out on discharge that I still had regurgitation. (It seems that one of the stitches came loose, hence the leakage). Now I am back to monitoring this with echos every six months and facing repeat surgery if it starts to worsen. I want to point out to you that surgeons and device companies are making tremendous progress with new techniques on a daily basis. So if you go with a tissue valve they may have a less invasive surgery to replace it again when you need it in 10+ (hopefully) years. Also, once you recover from this first surgery you will be less apprehensive about a second one down the road since you will have already proven that you can weather the storm. Good luck!!!

Hi Kristin - I also struggled with my decision as I am 47. I have opted for the Ross Procedure in NYC with Dr. Stelzer. I do believe it is a personal choice and not always the obvious one. My surgery is just around the corner as well - Sept. 30th - and each day I'm struggling more and more with the anxiety of whether or not I've made the right choice. I'm putting it in God's hands and the very skilled hands of the surgeon I have chosen! I think the waiting is one of the most difficult parts - that and the recovery scares the heck out of me. Best of luck in your decision and with your upcoming surgery. Lisa

Hello Kristin- Know you are at an overwhelmed place with surgery coming up but want to try to reassure you that all will be well as this is something you must do for you and your child! When completed, you will be able to begin again and after taking the time to recover and heal this WILL seem like an obnoxious dream that sets itself back in your past. Please take care of yourself well these next days ahead until your surgery and enjoy people around you and/or family that will hopefully make you feel confident and strong. There is life after this surgery and you are up for it........ Sending a prayer and universal thoughts to you that as each day passes you feel all will be well...and in not too long a time you will be home with your child who's love will help you heal.