NM's Posts

Nancy - I'm sorry to read this news and encourage you to do whatever you can to live a long life. I lost my mother to an incurable disease and miss her every day. Be there for your daughter - there's no substitute for a mother. There's so much of life ahead - take charge of your health and future. Start today. We'll be here to support you! ❤

Hi Nancy. Did you ask the doctors if the surgical risk would be lower if you lost weight? I agree with Marie and Susan: do what you can to mitigate your risks so you can be around to enjoy your family and vice versa. Life IS a gift and we have to do our part in creating the best gift. Best wishes.

I can answer with what I know from my Aunt's TAVR procedure a couple of years ago. Here in the United States, you are a candidate if you are a high risk for open heart surgery due to age or other medical factors. My aunt was 75, had breast cancer and one aortic valve replacement which qualified her for the procedure. It was done in the Cath lab and she went home two days later, I believe. So not just anyone can get it to answer the question as to why. Some on this site have been told thsst the TAVR will soon be the "gold standard" way for aortic valve replacement. Here is a link that has a nice video about it. https://newheartvalve.com/hcp/tavr-overview/

Hi. I am also from Victoria...Dr. Perchinsky is my surgeon and Dr. Robinson my cardiologist. All the surgeons in the Heart Institute are considered top rated, including yours. My surgeon does not recommend TAVR except for medium to high risk patients for OHS. Have you asked your surgeon for more details about why he recommends TAVR....and what are the risks for you that he has made this recommendation....what are your risks for OHS as recommended by your cardiologist? I would definitely not feel comfortable if my cardiologist and surgeon were not in agreement with one another.

Wow Nancy—just read your story. Check out mine and you can see what I went through on the topic of TAVR. In the US, it is most available to patients who are high or intermediate-risk for OHS. They are now moving toward low surgical risk patients. Ultimately it matters how old you are because there isn't enough data to know how long a TAVR will last yet. But it all depends on your specific circumstances as well. Definitely get more details. I had three heart surgeons and a TAVR expert recommend OHS to me. Then I had another TAVR cardiologist recommend it but he used serious scare tactics and unethical behavior to try to convince me, so I walked away. Good luck!

There is usually a good reason that a surgeon will recommend TAVR (age, high risk for surgery, etc) but at this point we don't know how long TAVR valves will last or what having multiple TAVR procedures will be like. Each procedure has its pluses and its risks so you'll need more information about your specific situation.

The reason why the surgeon recommended the TAVR (and I wanted it all along) is because I am quite obese and the recovery from OHS would be extremely difficult. I think the cardiologist is pushing hard for the mechanical because it's supposed to last longer (I'm 66). He doesn't seem to acknowledge the physical difficulties I have especially needing to use my arms to push up from a sitting position and the extra weight on my chest. The surgeon pointed out that there would be a lot of pressure on my lungs and there would be a danger that I wouldn't be able to get off the ventilator. He considers me high risk.

Diane, my original surgeon, Dr. Ofiesh retired within 3 weeks of my appointment with him. So I wonder why I was referred to him in the first place since it just delayed everything, but that's another story. Then I talked with Dr. Bozinovski who was very concerned (see other post) and recommended TAVR. I went back to the cardiologist (Dr. Franco) and he then gave me the hard time. Since then I've talked with the TAVR coordinator and she says they're booking starting in the new year. So it's been a year since I was told I was severe.