Mar 24,2025 I had OHS to replace my mitral and aortic valves. Both were replaced with on-X valves. I am now five weeks post operation. Feeling better than I have in years. I am 60 years old and ready to resume my duties back at my job. I am enrolled in a cardiac rehab program. I highly recommend this. Still have some sternal soreness but every day it is better. I found Heart Valve Surgery on YouTube and watched as many of the videos as I could before my surgery. This really helped prepare me and also to ease my mind before I went in.

My name is Amy. I am 50 years old and I currently have a (pig) mitral valve that I received in April 2017 after an episode of dizziness and sob while working. I had a relatively good recovery. I did have an ablation 6 months post op due to continued A flutter. I was doing fantastic until November of 2024. I had a sudden episode of sob and the fatigue was unreal. I saw every physician on my radar and after being treated for “possible pneumonia”, which I never had to covid pneumonia I finally was permitted a TEE in March that revealed severe mitral valve regurgitation and stenosis. I am now waiting for dental clearance so that I can move forward with another open heart surgery. I have decided on the mechanical valve this time. Guess I didn’t understand enough about it the first go round. Will be going to Vanderbilt in Nashville. I am a praying southern gal so I know I will be ok just a bit nervous. Prayers and and any advice moving forward would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all in advance.

I'm very new and am looking for post opt advise on getting back to my regular life of gym workouts with a new elevated heart rate of 85. Before surgery it was 60.

Hi, my name is Revanke, and I'm 37 years old. I underwent Mitral Valve replacement surgery in February. The recovery seems to be going well other than for slight stomach irritation and irregularities at times which im guessing is due to the post op medication which i have been taking for the last 3 months.
I have been asked to take Warfarin to manage the thinning of blood, and it was monitored weekly through a PT/INR test which now is done every 2 weeks.
I was told that a home test machine is an option to check the INR levels and is there any particular machine/ brand that could be recommended? Also, how much would such a home test machine cost?

I’m quite thankful Adam for this site! I live in a suburb of Austin, TX and had an “executive physical” in December 2024. I had no symptoms that I was aware of, but I received the results of a follow-up echo cardiogram at the end of December, on my 65th birthday. It revealed “Severe Mitral Valve Regurgitation”, which was quite a shock. I did quite a bit of research online (using AI sites, Google, which led me to your site - and I wound up reading up on the best cardiac surgeons for my condition).

I wanted to go with a “minimally invasive technique” (as would anyone who was in my situation). I found a couple of surgeons who pointed out that a cardiac surgeon needs to do at least 50 to 60 mitral valve procedures per year if they were going to be proficient - and that the typical cardiac surgeon only does 5 to 10 per year. If they weren’t doing enough to truly be “proficient”, then I had a much greater chance (perhaps 30%) of waking up after the surgery to hear the surgeon tell me that they “HAD TO” do a “replacement” instead of a “repair” procedure - and realizing the reasons why someone who is my age would strongly prefer a “repair”, with some statistics showing that the results of a repair are equivalent (or better than equivalent) to someone who never had a heart problem in the first place!

Through the grapevine, a relative pointed out a Dr. Luis Castro up in the Bay Area in Northern California, at Marin Health Medical Center - and sang his praises. Ironically, I had already stumbled upon him in my research, and thought it was pretty wild that his “Dr. Castro” was the same one I was following online and who was at the top of my list. Within about a week or so, I had a zoom appt with Dr. Castro and he had already reviewed the tests that I had done locally in Texas. (Let’s face it, when you’re dealing with the top heart surgeons or brain surgeons, you’re dealing with people of the highest intellect, and often, have to deal with egos that go with it! But Dr. Castro talked to me like I was his only patient, and patiently answered all of my questions…….leaving me to feel like I’d known him most of my life!). His office assistant, Elizabeth, was also so kind and patient that I was basically “shocked”. I found it to be the same thing with not only his P.A.’s, but also with everyone I dealt with at the hospital…….from the ICU nurses, to the nurses in the cardiac unit.

I’ve lived in Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, and now Texas - and I would have to say, that the least empathetic and qualified of Dr. Castro’s staff and the hospital’s - from Physical Therapists, to Occupational Therapists, to the nurses and the people who serve under them, were still more kind, empathetic and patient than the “best” I had ever encountered in all of the other states I had lived in. (I felt like maybe someone lied to the CA staff and told them I was a famous billionaire or something!). I still find it to have been a very surreal experience……….so thanks Adam for creating this website…..and I would encourage anyone to seriously consider Dr. Castro and his team, regardless of where you live!

Bill Snelson writes, "I’m so glad to hear you are home, Mark, and are getting out and moving around. Very sorry to hear you are having such discomfort, though. Hang in there.  "