Chris Calhoun - Heart Valve Journal

Ana Brusso Hello Chris, good to hear from you. How is your EF nowadays? I had a nagging pain on my left breast 6 months post op and it lasted for a couple of months but ... Read more

Rose Madura I have had this pain from time to time. Actually, my husband has too so we aren't convinced it was from heart surgery. It goes away on it's own. But since ... Read more

Chris Calhoun Thanks for the replies - my Ejection Fraction improved from 34 all the way to above 50 now !! So that was one scare that seems to have just been part of the ... Read more

Ana Brusso So good to hear Chris. If your issue continue talk to your doctor. Let us know how you are doing.

Susan Lynn Chris - Glad to hear your EF has so greatly improved. Are you still taking Eloquis? ❤

Pearl C I tried with AAA, it seemed possible, then they came back with questions about surgery, why, how long ago, last exam and request for records. . . that ended it.

Alex Sigalov If u get under $320k most of companies dont do health check, so if u spread it out over multiple insurers u can get a decent amount of coverage, i got my at ... Read more

Carlos Banuelos Yeah, I think we are uninsurable. I have tried a few times but have been denied. Even if you apply for a policy with coverage under $320k there is usually ... Read more

Alex Sigalov Carlos, i think it matters if u die from that particular thing, i mostly got it for an accident or cancer or something like that, i think also time frame is ... Read more

Carlos Banuelos Thanks, Alex. I have a 30 yr term policy I took out 14 years ago when I had my first child then tried to get more insurance several times during last 5/6 years ... Read more

Chris Calhoun Thanks everyone - I am going to see if the exclusion route could work for me

Alex Sigalov Hi Chris, did u watch video with Dr Gillinov and Adam about Covid19 he talks about it a little

Marie Myers It sounds like we , after successful valve surgery, are at the same risk as everyone else.

Chris Calhoun I did not see the video Alex mentions - my thought is if my diseased valve has been removed and replaced I should be in good shape? provided I did not have ... Read more

Martin Carr My cardiologist told me during a follow up appointment on Friday that we are at the same risk as everyone else BUT if we get an infection we are then high risk

Marie Myers Yes, I read that About a third of the critical care Covid 19 patients in Washington state developed a type of cardiomyopathy at one hospital. This group of ... Read more

Adam Pick Sorry Chris. I do not have any information about this. Sorry I can't be of more help!

Sommer Russell Hey Chris. Have you tried using a Prescription Assistance Savings Card or if you qualify assistance to just cover the medicine. Entresto is a very good medicine ... Read more

ENTRESTO financial support | ENTRESTO (sacubitril/valsartan)

https://www.entresto.com/info/entresto-central/financial-support.jsp

When you have Heart Failure, you may be taking a few different medications, and affording them all can be difficult. But ENTRESTO® Central, a patient support program, is here to help. Out-of-pocket cost for your ENTRESTO prescription may vary, depending on your health insurance plan and prescription drug coverage.

Chris Calhoun Adam / Sommer- thanks I will still keep trying to find others that have had post op loss of Ejection Fraction - mine was 59% pre op and dropped post op to 34% ... Read more

Sommer Russell Hey Chris. That sounds like you are on headed in the right direction! That is wonderful and I hope that your EF keeps improving. 34% to 44%- that is awesome!!! ... Read more

Skipper Kagamaster Whenever I eat closer to a keto/paleo diet, my heart feels a lot better (which makes sense as diets like that help stave off inflammation). That said, I just love sugar and grains too much!

Tee Ad Give the more plant based approach some time and do lots of experimenting with new recipes, ingredients, etc. Also, I'd suggest easing into it. If you go cold ... Read more

Barbara Gordon I'm already eating the right food

Rose Madura Personally, I can't imagine this kind of diet. Once a year, I do the 21 day biblically based Daniel Fast. You basically wat only things that are grown...fruits, ... Read more

Marie Myers It is hard, but I am trying to do the same thing. My hubby and I have cut back on red meat, rarely eat fried foods, and I try to hold myself back from sweets. ... Read more

Robert Osmachenko I agree, diet is very important and very hard to achieve. I find that grains and sugar are addictive in many ways and hard to eliminate. Many of our foods ... Read more

Ana Brusso I was never told to do any particular diet. I think everything in moderation is good. After my surgery my tastebuds changed and there were things I ate that ... Read more

Deepak Khanka Hi Chris
I had a spark pain towards my left just below my left deltoids. I am just over 7 months . The pain is now gone if lasted for few months. But when ... Read more

Marie Myers I think you are feeling some of the now-healed tissues in the whole area. Scar tissue is not as flexible as your original tissue, and maybe you are feeling ... Read more

Chris Calhoun Deepak my EF was 60 % pre op then dropped to 34% post op now back up to 44% - no regurgitation that I know of - none mentioned after 2 post op echoes - my ... Read more

Chris Calhoun Marie - thanks that makes sense and is what I am hoping is the case!!! thanks!!

Chris Calhoun also no bloating

Chris Calhoun I was running 5k's with my EF supposedly at 34% - my surgeon said he did not believe my ef was really that low - I am running / (should say slow jogging) 5k's ... Read more

Peggy Whitecotton I had soreness in the same area that lasted several months. But i was told that the surgeon broke 2 ribs and he wired them together during surgery for better ... Read more

John Hannon Yes, I went from LVEF 56% before surgery to 45% after at four weeks out. Before surgery I could run a 10k in an hour and at six weeks after surgery couldn't ... Read more

Chris Calhoun John - thanks so much for this reply - this is pretty much what happened to me except I went down to 34% and could not walk to my mailbox!! I have never been ... Read more

John Hannon This was my second surgery and I had pulmonic and aortic valves both replaced with Edwards Model 3300 TFX 29 mm size (cow tissue). First surgery was a Ross ... Read more

Rose Madura Chris, I'm sorry you are not getting any responses to your question. My EF was 55-60 after surgery so I can't offer any advice. I've been told that the echo ... Read more

Susan Lynn Chris - I'm not sure if you read the recent posts from Chris Purvis. He incurred a complication and significant drop in his EF 18 months after AVR. He reported ... Read more

Thomas Brusstar There is a measure called longitudinal strain, or myocardial strain, which is an alternative to ejection fraction to measure heart function. I think it's a ... Read more

Global longitudinal strain is a more reproducible measure of left ventricular function than ejection fraction regardless of echocardiographic training

https://cardiovascularultrasound.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12947-019-0168-9

Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is an established method for evaluation of left ventricular (LV) systolic function. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) by speckle tracking echocardiography seems to be an important additive method for evaluation of LV function with improved reproducibility compared with LVEF. Our aim was to compare reproducibility of GLS and LVEF between an expert and trainee both as echocardiographic examiner and analyst. Forty-seven patients with recent Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) underwent echocardiographic examination by both an expert echocardiographer and a trainee. Both echocardiographers, blinded for clinical data and each other’s findings, performed image analysis for evaluation of intra- and inter- observer variability. GLS was measured using speckle tracking echocardiography. LVEF was calculated by Simpson’s biplane method. The trainee measured a GLS of − 19.4% (±3.5%) and expert − 18.7% (±3.2%) with an Intra class correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.89 (0.74–0.95). LVEF by trainee was 50.3% (±8.2%) and by expert 53.6% (±8.6%), ICC coefficient was 0.63 (0.32–0.80). For GLS the systematic difference was 0.21% (− 4.58–2.64) vs. 4.08% (− 20.78–12.62) for LVEF. GLS is a more reproducible method for evaluation of LV function than LVEF regardless of echocardiographic training.

Sherry Jones Hi Chris,
I had the same occurrence only it is because I suffered a heart attack during my surgery.
My surgery was in 2011 and my last EF was normal but it ... Read more

Chris Calhoun Thanks for all the replies!!! I find this to be a very interesting subject !!!

mark sherwinsky have fun hope it works

Chris Calhoun Mark - are you saying you wouldn't use it? I can't believe there is not more commenting on this issue

Marie Myers I read 2 articles that said it is okay to take beta blockers and Cialis. As long as you don’t experience dizziness, fainting, (signs of a low BP) many docs ... Read more

mark sherwinsky sorry there was a misunderstanding with my previous reply My doctor said it was ok to try all the ED Medicine. I was just giving you i quess my personal experience. ... Read more

Chris Calhoun Thanks all - I am perfectly able to get an erection - I just like the extra boost the cialis gives - my question is really about whether people believe the ... Read more

Marie Myers 2 articles that I looked at stated that Ejection fraction can take up to a year after surgery to improve. One study found that whether your EF was low or ... Read more

Chris Calhoun Marie thanks!! I think the only reason I am concerned is because the tech that did the echo kind of freaked out and did not like the low 34% reading - her ... Read more

Rose Madura I was told once by my cardiologist that the technicians are not always spot on. Point being, if you feel good and the doctor isn't worried, I try to focus on the positive things in life.

Chris Calhoun Rose - thanks !! I have another echo in 4 weeks - I have been jogging 3 miles - (3) times a week and feel very strong - we will see how it's progressing and ... Read more

Marie Myers Keep in mind that echos are a good screening tool, but not a perfect test. The results can vary with the technique/ skill of the person performing the test. ... Read more

Chris Calhoun Marie - thank you!!!!!

William Hirshman I don't know what my ejection fraction was before my last OP in May for a Bentall procedure (fixed aortic root aneurysm and replaced St. Jude mechanical valve ... Read more

Susan Lynn Chris - I was put on metoprolol, along with several other drugs after leaving the hospital. At my one month follow up appointment with my surgeon, I was told ... Read more

Chris Calhoun Susan/ William - thanks for the info - I can certainly hope the tech that looked like she had seen a ghost when coming up with my 34 EF has made a mistake ... Read more

Alex Sigalov Hi Chris, i did not have but my dr sais she had a case where at at firts one of the patients had reduced EF buy after two weeks resolved it self

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