bicuspid valve replacement

[sijpooh]

When the main high flow valve is replaced and it is found that all of the valves are bicuspid, shouldn't they also be replaced?  My husband just passed away from a heart attack due to, but not only, an aortic bicuspid valve.  I'm trying to figure out the why and how he passed to get closure.  His surgery was in 99.  We were told that besides the other deformed valves his heart was healthy and with the new donor valve it should work for 25 to 30 years.  Well it only lasted 8 years.  Could anybody shed some light on this matter?

[sijpooh]

He had it in Sacramento, CA.  They said they did all of the tests needed.  I don't know what happened.

[polkajoe]

hi,
where did your husband have the surgery if i can ask. also did they do enough testing prior to surgery to make sure of everything in there did they say?
polka

[Healthyself2]

I'm not saying your husband had this problem, but there are other diseases in the body which affect the heart.

I met a man who had no other risk factors but had a heart valve replaced.  He had very extreme dental disease.  I had read that dental disease could affect the heart, especially destroy the valves.  This person was an extreme case as his breath was toxic.  I was a believer in the theory after meeting this man.  

Evidently his doctors had never told him of the linkage between his dental disease and his heart.  I didn't tell him because I didn't want to offend him, but he looked like he was not long for this world.

[Cleveland Clinic]

Bioprosthetic Valves last anywhere from 10 to 15 years.  Less in younger patients due to high levels of activity.  It's unlikely that your husband died from complications of the valve.  The heart attack, however, makes more sense in this situation, and is unlikely to be related to the valve.  These are two separate conditions which, unfortunately, can co-exist in certain patients.  Heart attacks are related to sudden blockages in the arteries around the heart and often happen in people with coexisting coronary artery disease.  Unfortunately, even the mildest of all blockages can suddenly rupture and cause a blood clot to form around it leading to a sudden blood cut-off and subsequent sudden cardiac death.