Tapan's Journal

Its been a while since I checked back with the community here. Hard to believe it has been 8 months since I had my OHS and by the grace of God things have progressed very well. I am back to my normal routine and back to 10K runs and other cardio-physical activities. My work travel has taken me all over the world in the past few months and it has not been impeded in any shape due to the surgery. I am thankful again to God for every single day that he has bestowed upon me and have a whole new appreciation for life and more importantly a different and more meaningful perspective on life. I realize the apprehension that one goes through as he/she is about to go through this major surgery. My well wishes to everyone who is about to embark on this journey. Stay positive, stay strong, and don't hesitate to ask for help.

Question regarding effects of exercising and warfarin - My INR level was pretty stable for about couple of months but noticed that it has been dropping in the three weeks or so (my dosage is being increased to counter this drop). I am starting to regain my strength and exercise regimen dating back to pre-surgery days but noticing a lower INR reading. Is their any co-relation between exercising and its impact on INR levels. I have read contradicting info on this topic and wonder if folks have any insight into this. I just got my home monitor couple of days ago so that should help.

Hello to all my fellow heart community folks. I am coming up on my four months after OHS and reading some of these posts brought back lot of memories as I was about to enter the most difficult part of my life. Just some friendly advice for those who might be staring at a surgery in the near term - 1) Do your homework; ask as many questions as you can and don't even hesitate to ask some of those questions again; 2) Get a second opinion and last but not the least 3) Stay positive - as hard as it seems a positive mind will go a long way in helping you get through the rough patch. By the Grace of God, my recovery has come along well and I am thankful to everyone's well wishes and prayers. I completed my 5K run last month just before Christmas and planning to do 10K before the end of this month. Starting to regain some of the weight that I had lost after the surgery. Tapan

Hello Everyone. Today marks 8 weeks since I had my bicuspid aortic valve replaced and aortic aneurysm repaired. Hard to believe how quickly time is zipping by. By the grace of God, my recovery has come along very well and for that I am very grateful. I started work couple of weeks ago and my exercise regimen continues to get better by the day. In fact just yesterday I was able to run (albeit slow) a mile and hope to keep bumping up that number. Before surgery I had set a goal of running 5K before Christmas and hopeful that I can do that. I hit the gym for the first time today and was able to start light weight workout. I also want to take this opportunity to Thank various folks in this community for their guidance leading up to my surgery. I also want to convey my best wishes and prayers to all the folks who have their surgeries slated over the next few days. I know its not easy as one gets closer to the date as I certainly went through my highs and lows.

Hello, First and foremost Thank You everyone for your prayers and well-wishes in regards to my heart surgery. My surgery was successful whereby they replaced both the leaky aortic valve and the aneurysm (got a composite valve graft). Dr.Craig Miller and his team at Stanford were outstanding and made my stay very comfortable. Nurses, physicians, etc all of them were superb! I got discharged after five days and have been recovering at home. My recovery is coming along quite well and I have been walking about 3-4 miles/day for the past five days. Saw my cardiologist and surgeon today for follow up and all looks good. In fact my surgeon asked to bump up my walking to about 7-8 miles/day, which I plan to start tomorrow. I am glad the surgery is behind me and now squarely focused on recovery. I am greatfull to the God above for guiding me through the most difficult period of my life and for giving me another new lease on life, which I plan to make more meaningful from here on.

I will be going with a mechanical valve at my upcoming Sept. 23rd surgery. It is my understanding that some insurance companies have a 3 month waiting period before they will pay for a home monitoring INR machine/kit (don't quite understand why). My question for the community is two fold - 1) How often did folks test their blood in the first couple of months after surgery and 2) Did you go to a Coumadin lab or had someone assist you at home (i.e. nursing service) with regular blood work the first couple of months? Thanks Tapan

Well Sept. 23rd is almost here and my anxiety level continues to build, which I hope is normal part of this process. Still hard to believe that I will be going through this surgery especially given that I am asymptomatic. In fact just ran 5 miles yesterday and still feel like I have not lost a beat. Have mixed emotions but squarely focusing my resolve on post surgery rehab. Have bought a new pair of shoes that I plan to break in after the surgery with the goal of running a 5K in December. Plenty of prayers that all goes well for myself and for those who have their surgeries coming up.

Ever since I found out that I need an elective surgery within the next couple of months, I have been struggling with a decision to go with mechanical vs. tissue valve. One surgeon suggested a mechanical valve and another surgeon (2nd opinion) suggested a tissue valve. On one hand I don't want to stay on Coumadin for rest of my life but at the same time the thought of going through a guaranteed re-op is not desirable either. I realize there is no ideal option here and at the end of the day, I will have to make a call.

Hello Everyone. My name is Tapan Mehta and I am a 43 year old male who has followed HeartValveSurgery.com for several years but never really participated in the online community until today. I have known about my congenital aortic bicuspid valve for several years now (found out through a routine physical exam, which led to seeing a cardiologist) but it was not until last week where I was told that its time for me to have the surgery to fix my aortic root and valve. To say the least, the past week has been an emotional roller coaster as I try to sort out the next steps. I need to get both my aortic root and aortic valve fixed and met with Dr. Craig Miller at Stanford earlier this week to talk about the surgery. I have two questions for the community members - 1) Does anyone have insight about Dr.Miller as it relates to this type of surgery? 2) Besides Dr.Miller, who are some other top surgeons in California who could perform aortic root and valve surgery? Thank You, Tapan