Louise's Guestbook

Hi Louise , My bad valve is the Aortic so I don't know about the Mitral medication/repair/replace options. It strikes me as strange that our symptoms are pretty much exactly the same though. I hope you can get some fast resolution though as I completely understand the level of suffering your experiencing. It's difficult and can be terrifying. The important thing is getting it diagnosed which oddly enough was a huge ordeal for me. I cannot tell you the number of doctors I saw who said my symptoms were simple things like low vitamin D levels, anxiety, and pretty much every other 45 second exam diagnosis they could come up with....haha it was a multi year struggle just to get anybody to take me serious. I don't have to wonder why Heart Disease is the number one killer in America. Problem is you go to an Emergency Room and they do all "textbook" tests and don't listen to the patients. If the ECG looks good and the CBC says the Troponin levels are within the non event range for cell damage.....guess what your fine and they pretty much right it off as you had an anxiety attack, your out of shape or whatever. It's SAD to me that so many people walk out of the ER and are told they are good to go when they have life threatening heart disorders. This is why so many people die needlessly. I think as far as repair vs replace goes, I just don't get the whole repair thing. But that's just my opinion on it , why mess around with it just replace and move on haha for me anyways this just makes sense. YOU must decide what's best for you and your lifestyle though, NOBODY can be in your shoes and feel exactly what your feeling. Trust Your Instincts know matter what you read or hear. I will be following you along in your journey my friend. Take Care and God Bless You Louise

Hi. I am 40 and just had mitral valve replacement via open heart surgery 2 weeks ago. I feel good, so much better and can't wait to fully heal to really get my life back. My Dr tried to repair the valve but it was not going to last long so I went with the biological valve, I thought it was pig it it might be human tissue. No Coumadin for me. As far as which is better meds or surgery I would listen to my Dr. You don't want to get worse, it's no fun feeling sick and worried. I was having lots of anxiety, glad I had the surgery. You have certainly found the right site for support.

Hi Louise! Welcome to the group. There are a LOT of great stories here with a lot of information to process. Please ask questions! We like to talk about our experiences, and everyone has a different viewpoint. So read around, browse some journals, then start asking questions! -Meredith