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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Re: Aortic Valve Replacement
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
Re: Aortic Valve Replacement
by CCF Cardio MD - MTR, Jan 01, 1995 12:00AM
Posted By CCF CARDIO MD - MTR on January 24, 1999 at 21:33:22:
In Reply to: Aortic Valve Replacement posted by Dave on January 20, 1999 at 07:54:26:
Eleven years ago I recieved a St. Jude Aortic Valve and up till now I have enjoyed very good health, I rarely even get a cold. This was a great improvement to my life, I had really no limitations or symtoms. But that was then. Now, within the last month or two I have become quite symtomatic. I am frequently light headed and have a great deal of pain in the chest as well as in my back, along with breif periods of chaotic beats and periods of shortness of breath. This causes me some worry since I really dont have to be exerting myself for these symtoms to come about, they just happen even while laying in bed! I had a Stress Echo done last week and those results are yet to be reviewed. During the test (the first echo) the technician excused herself and then returned, I sort of sensed something caused her some alarm, she then said that "my valve was very tight" and "kind of old." " But we'll go ahead anyway," I thought that I did very well and did'nt suffer any pain etc. during the test but, it did take a while to get my rate up to the 150-160 or so bpm and of course my preasure was slow to rise too. Towards the end of the test I became fatigued and a cramp in the leg prevented the completion of the last min. or so. My question is; What in the world could they of seen prior to the exercise part that would cause that type of behavior? And, more importantly, what could these symtoms mean? I am worried because I do alot of driving during the day and am in situations during the day that if I were to pass-out,( I have had a couple of close calls but have been able to recover) I could end up really hurt or more importantly hurt someone else, that I could not handle and causes me a great deal of worry.
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Dear Dave, thank you for your question. I suspect that you had a porcine (bioprosthetic) aortic valve replacement 11 years ago. If this is true, these types of artificial valves are prone to degenerating 10-15 years after implantation. The valve leaflets tend to calcify and if that is the case with your valve prothesis, then you may have prosthetic aortic stenosis. I don't know if you had aortic stenosis originally, but if you did, prosthetic aortic stenosis is similar. Prosthetic aortic stenosis could explain your present symptoms. The reason the exercise technician was concerned is that exercise can potentially be harmful with aortic stenosis, but you did fine on your stress test so there's no need to worry about that. Your questions about passing out are certainly valid, so I suggest that you speak with your own cardiologist soon about the results of your stress test and what the treatment plan will be. In the meantime, you should avoid strenuous activities and driving until you speak with your cardiologist.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions. Good luck!
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart
Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
In Reply to: Aortic Valve Replacement posted by Dave on January 20, 1999 at 07:54:26:
Eleven years ago I recieved a St. Jude Aortic Valve and up till now I have enjoyed very good health, I rarely even get a cold. This was a great improvement to my life, I had really no limitations or symtoms. But that was then. Now, within the last month or two I have become quite symtomatic. I am frequently light headed and have a great deal of pain in the chest as well as in my back, along with breif periods of chaotic beats and periods of shortness of breath. This causes me some worry since I really dont have to be exerting myself for these symtoms to come about, they just happen even while laying in bed! I had a Stress Echo done last week and those results are yet to be reviewed. During the test (the first echo) the technician excused herself and then returned, I sort of sensed something caused her some alarm, she then said that "my valve was very tight" and "kind of old." " But we'll go ahead anyway," I thought that I did very well and did'nt suffer any pain etc. during the test but, it did take a while to get my rate up to the 150-160 or so bpm and of course my preasure was slow to rise too. Towards the end of the test I became fatigued and a cramp in the leg prevented the completion of the last min. or so. My question is; What in the world could they of seen prior to the exercise part that would cause that type of behavior? And, more importantly, what could these symtoms mean? I am worried because I do alot of driving during the day and am in situations during the day that if I were to pass-out,( I have had a couple of close calls but have been able to recover) I could end up really hurt or more importantly hurt someone else, that I could not handle and causes me a great deal of worry.
______
Dear Dave, thank you for your question. I suspect that you had a porcine (bioprosthetic) aortic valve replacement 11 years ago. If this is true, these types of artificial valves are prone to degenerating 10-15 years after implantation. The valve leaflets tend to calcify and if that is the case with your valve prothesis, then you may have prosthetic aortic stenosis. I don't know if you had aortic stenosis originally, but if you did, prosthetic aortic stenosis is similar. Prosthetic aortic stenosis could explain your present symptoms. The reason the exercise technician was concerned is that exercise can potentially be harmful with aortic stenosis, but you did fine on your stress test so there's no need to worry about that. Your questions about passing out are certainly valid, so I suggest that you speak with your own cardiologist soon about the results of your stress test and what the treatment plan will be. In the meantime, you should avoid strenuous activities and driving until you speak with your cardiologist.
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions. Good luck!
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart
Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
