Hello everyone, I have more of aftercare question from your cardiologist. My surgery to repair my Mitral valve and replace a part of the ascending aorta was ...Read more
Hello everyone, I have more of aftercare question from your cardiologist. My surgery to repair my Mitral valve and replace a part of the ascending aorta was about a year ago this coming Dec. I was curious what kind of care from your cardiologist most of you had? How often are you being seen, what kind of tests are being done and how often? I had one echo done about three months after surgery and that is it. That after reading the results myself had a few findings that were never discussed to me afterwards. I was wondering if the results of a dilated right ventricle and right ventricle systolic function is reduced type findings was something that was common after open heart surgery? I was reading this report on my findings only a few days ago here in Nov. and This was never addressed to me as a finding when i saw my cardiologist. in March. I have seen my cardiologist twice since surgery and do not have any kind of appointment with him in the future.
Marie Myers I have been seen once a year by my cardiologist since my surgery.. I usually get an annual echocardio ... Read more
Marie Myers I have been seen once a year by my cardiologist since my surgery.. I usually get an annual echocardiogram with him, and he sends me the results through my “My Patient Portal”. I am sure if anything looked different/bad, he would give me a call. I did not have an echo till 8 months after my surgery. Everything looked and sounded good, so, no rush to get an echo.
Thomas Brusstar I see my cardiologist once a year now, since my mitral repair in 2018. I schedule the echo a couple ... Read more
Thomas Brusstar I see my cardiologist once a year now, since my mitral repair in 2018. I schedule the echo a couple weeks in advance of that appt so he has a fresh echo to interpret. I read the written report that comes out within a few days of the echo, but he interprets it — generally by going back to the images and videos and checking how they measured, and also advising whether the conclusions in the standard report are valid. He is. Wry hands on with raw echo footage. Like a few weeks ago he said the systolic dysfunction finding is not real, because it is based partly on things my repaired mitral valve will be bad at without affecting function. And even though my left atrium is still badly enlarged, he can explain to me that it improved a ton immediately after the valve was fixed, but that we probably cannot expect it to improve more at this point. So I plan to continue with an annual meeting even though the 3 so far have been easy. If there’s ever anything developing, I want to understand it. If I were you I would give time for the results of the echo and schedule an annual consultation a few weeks later. I think my dr says I could do it every 2 years if I want at this point, but I prefer keeping a close eye on it.
Richard Munson I had one at 3 months and 8 months and was given very precise info regarding the results which were g ... Read more
Richard Munson I had one at 3 months and 8 months and was given very precise info regarding the results which were good. My left chamber was enlarged but no longer the case so they scheduled another echo and visit in a year. I have a local cardiologist as well as one in boston at mass general the site of the surgery where they perform the echos. My only issue with having 2 cardiologists has been a differing opinion on what medications to stay on and what not but it was primarily a fib related not mitral valve. Once january rolls around it will be 1 year and i will address this again. I agree that 2 years might be too long. I want to know everything so i push them to divulge everything. I hate surprises.
Rose Madura I see my cardiologist annually. He feels I need an echocardiogram every five years for now since eve ... Read more
Rose Madura I see my cardiologist annually. He feels I need an echocardiogram every five years for now since everything sounds good. My heartbeat is very strong since the surgery. I'm fine with it as I trust his judgment. I should be getting one in 2022. The results are posted on "my chart " and I will compare it to my last full echocardiogram which was done in the hospital, I believe. I feel great and am one who usually doesn't worry until necessary. To me, worry is the opposite of faith.
I see my cardiologist once a year but have not had an echocardiogram since two months after my surger ... Read more
I see my cardiologist once a year but have not had an echocardiogram since two months after my surgery. He ferias that I don’t need to have an echo and have not order one since then but I am curious as to how are things inside and will request one this year and hopefully he will order it. So far so good
Rita Savelis It's been 6 years since I had double valve replacement (aortic and mitral) and a 3rd valve (tricuspid ... Read more
Rita Savelis It's been 6 years since I had double valve replacement (aortic and mitral) and a 3rd valve (tricuspid) repaired. I see my cardiologist every 6 months and I have an echocardiogram once a year. For the first years I had one every 6 months. I don't know how things work in the U.S. where insurance and payment are such a big part of care, but you should be seeing a cardiologist once a year at least and he/she can decide on your echocardiograms.
Ellen Leng Am 5 years out from mitral repair and still getting annual ECHO. I had 2 ECHOs post op, about 2 and 4 ... Read more
Ellen Leng Am 5 years out from mitral repair and still getting annual ECHO. I had 2 ECHOs post op, about 2 and 4 months because of AFib, but have not had an episode in 3 years now (yay!). I think there are a lot of differing opinions about how often you need to be evaluated, however I am happy with annual eval and am willing to buck up the $ to assure all is well.
Best!
Hi everyone. I had my open heart surgery about 4 weeks ago. I had a Mitral Valve repair and they fixed a aneurism in my aortic arch. I also have a auto immune ...Read more
Hi everyone. I had my open heart surgery about 4 weeks ago. I had a Mitral Valve repair and they fixed a aneurism in my aortic arch. I also have a auto immune disease called ankylosing spondylitis. Is there anyone that has had surgery and has that same auto immune disease? It has been challenging with my AS symptoms in my entire body being inflamed during recovery from surgery. Since Ive had AS i cant sleep on my back without inflaming my spine which in turns effects many other parts of my body. Since surgery I have to sleep on my back, so sleep is very little for me. When can I start trying to sleep on my side and or stomach? I just cant sleep on my back. If there is anyone else out therewith AS I would love to communicate with you about the challenges during recovery and see if you experienced any of them also. Thanks
Chris Hall I don't have AS but did have mitral valve repair. They let me sleep on my side around day 3 or 4. Cal ... Read more
Chris Hall I don't have AS but did have mitral valve repair. They let me sleep on my side around day 3 or 4. Call your doctor and ask but I bet they'll tell you it's alright. I hate sleeping on my back. Good luck.
Frank Giovanniello Jon, have you tried a power recliner. After my bypass about 16 months ago I've been sleeping in a pow ... Read more
Frank Giovanniello Jon, have you tried a power recliner. After my bypass about 16 months ago I've been sleeping in a power recliner love seat. My sternum never healed up well enough to roll into bed. And now with the second surgery only a month ago, I'm gonna wait a few more months. I do sleep well in it.
JON COOK No I have not tried that thank you and I wish you success on this second surgery.
I will be going in to have my Mitral Valve repaired and the Aortic Arch aneurism repaired on Dec 17. Hopefully they can repair the valve, but if not I need ...Read more
I will be going in to have my Mitral Valve repaired and the Aortic Arch aneurism repaired on Dec 17. Hopefully they can repair the valve, but if not I need to decide on which valve to replace it with. Mechanical or Pig valve. I'm very active and a hiker, and keep flip flopping on which I should get. Is there anyone that has the mechanical and can you tell me how much of a problem being on Warfarin is ?I'm 60 years old
Steven Methot John, I am 62 and have an aneurysm and a bi-cuspid aortic valve. Not ready for operation yet, and ev ... Read more
Steven Methot John, I am 62 and have an aneurysm and a bi-cuspid aortic valve. Not ready for operation yet, and everything is stable. The advice I have for you is... well, it's up to you. I am extremely active, hiker, cross-country skier and even though I shouldn't due to arthritis I do run. I am also very clumsy. The thought of having blood thinners for the rest of my life leaves me, personally, cold. I don't like taking pills and I would prefer not to. That said, the pig valve will need replacing. In 15 years the technology will have advanced and maybe it will be an easier task than it is now. So, for my case I think I'll go with tissue over plastic.
Marie Myers The good news is that the docs are often able to repair the mitral valve.
I had an ascending aneurys ... Read more
Marie Myers The good news is that the docs are often able to repair the mitral valve.
I had an ascending aneurysm, root aneurysm, and bicuspid aortic valve replaced with a tissue valve at age 63. My decision was mainly one of avoiding Coumadin. But on the mechanical valve side, the mechanical valve will likely last the rest of your life. It is a tough choice, and a very personal one. Wishing you peace during your decision-making time.
JON COOK Thank you Steven and Marie it is a very tough decision, I appreciate you taking time to respond to me ... Read more
JON COOK Thank you Steven and Marie it is a very tough decision, I appreciate you taking time to respond to me! Happy Holidays!!
Susan Lynn Jon - A very high percentage of mitral valves are repaired - my surgeon didn't even ask me about a va ... Read more
Susan Lynn Jon - A very high percentage of mitral valves are repaired - my surgeon didn't even ask me about a valve replacement choice. As Marie said, it's an individual choice. At the time of my surgery, I couldn't imagine having to go through it more than one time, but there are new valve in valve replacements that make replacing bio valves easy. Give the options some thought and choose what's right for you. Chances are your surgeon is just going to put a ring on it and it'll be in the history books! Good luck! ❤
Bradley Dunn I am on Warfarin and it has no effect on my life. 60 is a tricky age for this surgery. I could see yo ... Read more
Bradley Dunn I am on Warfarin and it has no effect on my life. 60 is a tricky age for this surgery. I could see you picking any valve for yourself. If you were very active, I would lean towards mechanical.
JON COOK Hi Bradley thank you for your input. Hope your well
Rita Savelis I've had 2 mechanical valves for almost 6 years (got them when I was 54). Anticoagulants are just a p ... Read more
Rita Savelis I've had 2 mechanical valves for almost 6 years (got them when I was 54). Anticoagulants are just a pill I take. It's hard at first and then you accomodate to them. There are pluses and minuses for both valve types. It's a very personal choice. Whatever choice you make will be right for you.
And it's true that a high percentage of mitral valves can be repaired.
Best!