le848dave

I had a great experience (short of needing the operation that is). I hope yours goes well too. See if you are a candidate for minimally invasive surgery. I only have a three inch horizontal cut between ribs on my right pec and another to the artery for bypass near my leg. It’s much quicker recovery and well worth it

As for that article...I had a job interview two weeks post surgery. Got the job and relocated a few weeks after that. Go with a positive attitude, technology and youth are on your side 👍🏻

Mechanical valves currently require anticoagulants for life. Yes. The upside is mechanical valves should outlast the person the go into. Tissue valves don’t require long term anticoagulants but depending on the age first inserted the recipient would require additional surgeries to replace the worn out tissue valve. In my case I didn’t want to have two additional surgeries so I went mechanical one and done

My consultation told me the biggest issue with mechanical is people not being consistent with their meds. Also mechanical was more popular in Europe for being a one operation for life. US patients ironically don’t want to pop a pill but hope for new surgeries that will be better in the future for replacement

There were other option out there like valve swapping and such that didn’t require anti coagulants off my memory serves. Basically for me I figured I’ll take advantage of my age and get the mechanical one and done. One pill and watching my diet is better than having another surgery loom over me. I’ve already been watching this knowing a surgery was coming for almost 15 years. I didn’t want to have a Damocles sword over me for another surgery so I went mechanical

I went for mechanical as well. The lifespan of the tissue valves is 10 to 15 years. The thought of having the surgery didn’t scare me but the thought of having it a second or third time (and later in life where it would be more complicated) made it an easy choice for me to get a mechanical valve which would likely never need replacement

I haven’t been told to avoid anything. I’ve been told to have a consistent volume of them. Look up Coumadin diet or list of things high in vitamin K.

I’ve also got a St Jude valve. I love the little warranty card they gave me and get to carry around. I’m on my way to becoming the six million dollar man. 👍🏻