Sarah's Posts

In my experience, it got so bad before surgery, that I was only able to walk half a block, then rest for a few minutes, then walk a bit more. I had to rest often. After each activity, I had to rest and recover. I had a lot of chest pain. I also had to rest often when speaking....I felt light headed and breathless carrying out a conversation. From the beginning, I was symptomatic. I think it's different for all ages, and for different problems. But for me, for the first surgery, it was about the risk. I have BAV, and my aortic aneurysm was at 4.8cm, which is dangerous and I wanted the surgery as soon as possible. My aneurysm was fixed in 2007, but the natural valve was left inside. 7 years later, my valve needed to be replaced.....this time it was about quality of life and morbidity. My heart was failing! My surgeon removed my diseased valve, and replaced it with a 23MM Bovine valve (I was 63 at the time). When I was out of ICU and my friend called me, we spoke for at least an hour on the phone..........I felt the change then, so for me it was an immediate and positive outcome.! I was amazed! at 63, I was beginning to feel like 43. After my body healed, I had so much energy....my husband who is 69 cannot keep up with me. You will feel great, and you will do great! feel free to read my journal....good luck! I wish you the best outcome.

HI Sarah, your symptoms seem like mine.. I can still walk a couple of miles but every so often need to take a breath, can go up 2-3 flights of stairs but again at the top have to take a breath.. I can do my boxing class but have to stop every so often which I didn't about 6 months ago.. I was told that these are mild symptoms but symptoms none the less and the valve should be taken care of before any damage is done to the heart.. as you see I'm scheduled Monday and can't wait to get this behind me... good luck on your decision.. its not an easy one, but one that needs to be made.