Mark's Journal

Robert Miller  To add another perspective, my cardiologist told me not to use the cardiac rehab. He said they only tell you to take things easy (purposely slow you down), then increase the  activity and tell you how much of a progress you made... I didn't go for cardiac rehab for neither of my surgeries. However, your situation might be different so follow what your surgeon/cardiologist tells you. 

As for this website/Adam, I can't say anything good enough. This site led me to Dr. Castro who is an excellent surgeon from what I can tell so far. 

Rose Madura  Congratulations Mark. I've heard mostly good things about cardiac rehab. Personally, I wasn't able to participate because I had a lot of complications. If my heart rate went up, I went into Afib or Aflutter and then had to be hospitalized. But I'm glad it's helping you and that you are doing well.

Ana Brusso  Happy heart valve day to you too. Congratulations on your progress in recovery. Continued good health and God bless you 🙏❤️

Pamela Gregory  Congratulations on 5 months!!! I agree with you that Cardiac Rehab has been the best thing for me too. They did not slow me down. They got me going both physically and mentally. Also gave me confidence to push myself by monitoring my heart while increasing intensity to Make sure all is good. I started at 1.8 flat at my gym and now doing 3.4 at 5% incline.

Mark Wilbur  Thank you all for your comments and encouragement. 
Everyone has different needs and abilities.  Yes, rehab does start you slow for evaluation, and, in my case, I moved ahead quickly based on my ability. I am a "young" 77 year old, not athletic but active.  Others in my class haven't improved as fast, but are better than when they started.

I have also learned that there is no "cookie cutter" cardiac rehab program, that each hospital and clinic has their own unique combination of machines and protocol, despite their common goals.  YOU know your own needs, and, like everything else, you need to be your own advocate.  In my case, I asked for the referral; it wasn't automatically offered.  A few years ago I also had to argue with my primary care doctor about a PSA test that he said I didn't need... but I got my way, cancer was discovered and treated (thus my photo ringing the bell at the completion of 37 radiation treatments).  Five 1/2 years later I am cancer free because I knew what was right for me.  I also had to challenge my initial discharge after heart surgery because I was having problems and they wanted to release me too soon. 

Trust your instincts and don't be intimidated.  After all, it's your life and that also affects the lives of those who love you.  God bless you all.

Mark Wilbur  Thank you, Marie!  Nice to hear from you.  I haven't posted here for a very long time and it's nice to see a familiar name and face.  Recovery is going well and we're mostly back to a normal routine, with my "unfortunate incident" moving quickly into the past.  The "bump in the road" that I mentioned in my first story turned into a big pothole instead.  But the problems have been solved, fixed and repaired; and everything has been put back together again... with many years of happiness still ahead.  Best wishes to you.

Rose Madura  Wow! Mark, all I can say is thank God for modern medicine. Most of us warriors (and you are a super warrior) would not be here if not for the doctors and researchers that kept making heart surgery more routine. God bless you and your wife. May the rest of your journey be uneventful....

Mark Wilbur  Thank you, Rose!  Nice to see another familiar name.  Thank you for your posts in the past years, as well.  You and Marie and part of the pantheon of posters who I read and benefited from during the time I was active on this online support group.  You are right about today's cardiothoracic surgery teams... they work together as one even during surgeries such a mine, which turned out to be more complicated than anticipated.  I share with you the hope of an uneventful future!  Thanks, and may God Bless you.

Ana Brusso  Mark, thank you for your story. So glad you are here to share it with us. I agree with Rose, Thank God for modern medicine and those amazing surgeons without whom we would not be here. Continued good health and God bless you and your wife. 

Nancy Chavez  Hi Mark
I had TAVR two weeks ago. I had a work up with my local Structural Heart Team(CTs, carotid US, PFT, angiogram, echo, blood work). I met with the interventional cardiologists and cardiac surgeon as part of the process. I was very symptomatic but ended up having only severe AS (I’ve had a heart murmur for many years). They recommended TAVR with a large valve for future valve in valve. It all happened in less than 2 months with problems with Covid -19 and insurance issues. I feel great now and I was in the hospital overnight. I’ve been walking 4 + miles a day for the past week.

Diane Maher  Hello Mark😊. After reviewing my echo, my cardiologist referred me to a surgeon and after that visit it was the surgeon who ordered my angio which was done about a month before my surgery. My timeline was 3 months.

Mark Wilbur  Thank you all for your quick responses! I wasn't sure whether my cardiologist was getting ahead of himself, or not. Now I can relax again. It has been a while since I posted regularly on this site and am happy to see some familiar names, along with more recent ones. I appreciate the experiences that you have shared here over the past few years. It is because of people like you that I can face my own surgery and recovery calmly and confidently. That deserves an additional "thank you!"

Herb Greenberg  Mark, my cath was on March 2, surgery March 4. Stress echo one month earlier showed all clear, but it's only 80% accurate. The cath showed one blockage, which was fixed two days later as a bonus round. (Apparently it lengthened the procedure by 7 minutes.) And BTW, the angiogram is a piece-o-cake.

Mary Woods  I empathise - my mitral valve leak has been 'almost severe' for at least 18 months. I've been told I'll need surgery sometime, but that sword of Damocles just won't go away. Can I ask what symptoms you have? I don't think I have any, although I'm currently not very fit and recovering from hip surgery.
Best wishes.

Michael Cline  Listen to your body my friend. I was asymptomatic for years living an active lifestyle, then little by little started to lose my energy. Hopefully you stay status quo and never need surgery.

Mark Wilbur  Thanks to all of you who commented and those who "liked" my post. Your warm, encouraging comments are well received! It is wonderful to think that a miracle could happen and that surgery might not be necessary! We know, however, that the reality is that this is a progressive condition and while it didn't progress as fast this year as it did the previous year... it did move forward. Here's hoping it will continue to move as slowly as it did this year.

To answer Mary Woods' question: I am pretty much asymtomatic except that exertion quickly raises my heart rate above my doctor's recommended levels and breathing is noticeably labored. It takes me twice as long to mow our lawn as it used to, as I frequently stop to let my heart rate drop down to acceptable levels. Other than that, I have no discomfort. At this point, my problem is limited to the performance of the aortic valve and its increasingly smaller opening. A number of people have mentioned that they didn't have noticeable symptoms prior to surgery, so you may be like them.

Michael, your advice is well taken. My energy level isn't what it used to be... no longer the "Energizer bunny!" I agree with you 100% that the body tells us, even in subtle ways, when something isn't right. I've strived to stay ahead of problems, including with prostate cancer which, I believe, we conquered by early treatment. We all have to stay alert and work with the medical professionals if we want to keep going... and I'm not ready to quit anytime soon!

Best wishes to all of you, and thanks for your encouragement and for the sharing all of you have done here on Adam's website. God bless you all!

Kevin Shackelford  Hi Mark,
I had my aortic valve replaced at Mayo Clinic but did my recovery in Ashland Or. I did some research on cardiologists and surgeons in your area in case I had any issues. There is a highly recommended surgeon at the Assante hospital there. I will get his name and post back here. You are also near OSHU in Portland. They have a great reputation for heart care.

Mark Wilbur  Thanks for your comment, Kevin. I am weighing my options between Medford, which is closest, and Bay Area vs. Portland. I have much more information about the surgeons north and south than I do about the two in Medford. Cardiologists here routinely refer patients to Medford, primarily because it's closer to where I live in Klamath Falls. Understandably, I want to have full confidence in the surgeon and facilities I choose. Like you, my murmur was diagnosed by a young, new doctor after ours retired. Young ears, better hearing maybe. Again, thanks for any help you can offer.

Kevin Shackelford  Mark, the cardiologist I heard about was Dr. Brian Gross. Aparantly he has retired. I did get another name from someone who had recent OHS in Medford. Dr. Nicolas Engstrom. He is apparently one of the best cardiac surgeons in that area. Even if you choose Bay Area or Portland it is good to know there are good docs in Southern Oregon for ongoing follow up etc. Best of luck with this process! Feel free to reach out anytime!

Daryl McCallum  I went up to Swedish in Seattle...I would highly recommend them. You want to make sure your at a MAJOR facility just in case you have complications as I did. I live a couple hours from there and I could have chose a smaller hospital closer to home, but I thought if I was going to do this that I wanted the best of the best.

Mark Wilbur  Thank you, Kevin and Daryl. And best wishes for continuing good health.
--Kevin, thank you for taking the effort to track down the information. I will research Dr. Engstrom further. Somehow, he was not on my radar. Much appreciated.
--Daryl, thank you for your comment. I agree with you that for a procedure that is so common and routine, open heart surgery isn't common and routine for us as individuals. That's why I'm trying to be careful and not just automatically go with an expected routine referral. This is not the time to be complacent. Your journal revealed just how a "small problem" could have had devastating results if not found so quickly and if proper facilities had not been at hand. Lots to consider. Thanks.

Adam Skaufel  I would highly recommend Swedish in Seattle. Dr Barnhart, performed my surgery in Feb 2017.  https://www.swedish.org/services/heart-vascular-institute/our-services/heart-surgery It is still crazy to think that I had open heart surgery less than 1 year ago.

John Lant  It took almost 5 years when my Cardiologist told me that I would eventually need my Aortic Valve replaced. Well that time has come and it has come to a point that within the next several months I will need that surgery. To be truthful It is a scary time in my life, but i have no other choice but to get it replaced or die. So that makes it a no brainer for me and I am at peace with myself now. I wish you good luck and always be positive of the outcome & never look back.

Roger Perkins  Mr. Wilbur - I pastor a church here in Medford & had my 2nd mitral valve (I know not the aortic valve) replacement earlier this year. Dr. Folsom was my surgeon @ Asante Regional hospital. Can email me for more info. if you like: rperkins238@gmail.com

Mark Wilbur  Thank you Bonnie. I have identified the Medford surgeons, but haven't been able to find any information about them, so I'm hoping some of their patients may come forward to share their experiences.

don petroff  Hello Mark, I live up here in Camas Washington near Portland. I have a Mitral valve issue that needs repair. The surgeon that I've had contact with is Dr. Malloy. He is the cardiac Surgeon at the Adventist Hospital here in Portland. He is also affiliated with the OHSU robotic program. He has done roughly 6000 Heart surgeries with over 2000 of those replacing or repairing valves. It sounds like you and I are on a similar time frame.