Rachelle's Journal

Adam Pick  Hi Rachelle, Great question. Here's a video I filmed with Coach Hoiberg of the Chicago Bulls about the On-X valve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C88mpgQJ_n0

Adam Pick  And here's the video with Linda all about the ticking sound of the On-X valve. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cAa_WeOEFU

Rachelle Johnson  I have watched both of these previously but can she hear it? What is that like? And I have heard others that the tick is very noticeable where hers is not

Rachelle Johnson  I appreciate any and all input because my surgery is coming quick and this is something that is causing me great anxiety to think I may hear it constantly 

Robert Miller  I have heard of people actually getting annoyed enough that they went through another surgery to replace the mechanical valve with a tissue valve due to the clicking. But to my knowledge, this is extremely rare. I was concerned and my surgeon explained it this way. It's kind of like a wall clock that ticks. If it's really quiet you can hear it. However, once you have heard it long enough, your brain is filtering that clicking out. I kind of figured that probably in some circumstances I might hear it just like sometime I feel my heart beat hard but most of the time I don't. Now I can speak from experience as my valve got fixed both times. But I was ready for a mechanical valve if fixing it wasn't possible. 

Rita Savelis  So sorry that you have to go through this. I have had 2 mechanical heart valves for 10 years and rarely hear them. The room has to be very very very quiet. I remember at the beginning putting a pillow on my chest if I was quietly reading. But the sound of the valves is definitely something that I rarely hear and that does not disturb me at all. In any case, anyone who has heart valve surgery and any type of valve will be very very aware of their heart and its pounding after surgery for at least a few weeks/months. Each person is singular but I'm sorry that more people with first-hand experience are not responding.

Rachelle Johnson  Thank you all for your input, it really helps.  I was lucky enough to get to talk to my neighbor today and he has a mechanical valve (St. Jude).  I sat next to him on the golf cart and I did not hear a thing which is was extremely windy in Missouri today.  That does help put my mind at ease now that I have actually got to talk to someone with a mechanical.  Dang Tic Tok has me scared to death because some of the sounds are extremely loud.  So appreciate all your info and anyone else that has any, please share.

Robert Miller  I have to admit that I use tiktok quite a bit but it's unbelievable how much stuff these days is autogenerated and posted and reposted by others just to get up in ratings, and tiktok keeps showing this. I think I am close to quitting Tiktok. But most importantly, tiktok is about the worst place to look for anything that is serious. You probably didn't search tiktok for advice but they probably tracked you what topics you looked for advise about on other sites. And the more extreme (and wrong) positions they offer, the more likely you read it. 

Sitting on a golf card in windy conditions trying to listen to the mechanical valve of ANOTHER person is no any indicator. The issue is when it's really quiet. I assume you also  asked the person about situation when it (really) quiet. 

I searched the learning center about this center and found something but it turns out it's what Adam already posted above. 

Here are a couple of studies I found after a quick search. I am a bit surprised about the (negative) results. If it's really just like a ticking clock, as it was described to me, then I don't think it would have bothered me. But of course, it's different if the noise comes from outside rather than from inside you. 
https://cardiothoracicsurgery.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13019-019-0956-1
https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/nearly-one-quarter-of-patients-say-mechanical-heart-valve-disturbs-sleep

In your bio you say your are 54. I was slightly younger for surgeries. For the first one, I thought I would go with a mechanical valve just durability, etc. But for my second surgery, I decided to go with a tissue valve. At this age, tissue valves should last at least 15 years. Then in many cases they can insert another one on top of the first without another open heart surgery. And that should last at least 10 years. So then you would be about 80 years old. But there is a good chance you look more at like 85 or more. And who knows what advances they have made in the next 30 years... It might not require open heart surgery. 

Btw, I assume the surgeon discussed with you mechanical vs tissue valve or did (s)he not touch on that or tell you, you are not candidate for a tissue valve for whatever medical reason? 

Melissa Baker  Hi Rachelle! I just had my aortic valve replaced with the On-X mechanical valve last week. I can hear the ticking but it is very subtle. The best way I can describe the sound is a safety pin tapping a piece of glass, or the clicking of a pen. I can not hear it at all during times where it is loud. My family can not hear it.  Even after a week, sometimes I forget it is ticking and I don’t even notice it.  Best of luck with your surgery. 

Sue Lambkin  I am not sure which one is Mom, both very pretty and healthy looking. Definitely reason to celebrate. Beautiful picture.
❤️

Ana Brusso  Thank you for sharing this beautiful picture. Happy Birthday to both of you! 🎉🎊🎈🎂👍🙏❤️

Jennifer reynolds  I have a mechanical Onx mitral valve since last July. I can hear the valve only if it is extremely quiet and over the months hardly notice it. I would advise buying a white noise machine for sleeping. That was the only time it bothered me and the white noise machine takes care of it. I actually forget to turn it on one night recently and slept through the night which surprised me. Good luck with your surgery