mother w/ SBE CHF MVP cardiomyopathy

  I have several questions concerning my mother. Sorry for the length. I will try to explain this as best I can. She just turned 70 y/o. Her history consists of cardiomyopathy as underlying problem w/ mvp resulted from long term intubation after resistant bacterial pneumonia 11 years ago. She was in the process of evaluation for valve repair/ replacement at Cleveland Clinic (Dr. Hammer) in Nov 98,  but ended up in the  hospital  for SBE w/ severe diskitis. She was hopitalized for 3 weeks  d/c'd for 2 1/2 weeks and  returned last week w/ CHF which responded well to diuretics. As a result she has lost alot of weight  and is generally weak. She will be returning to Cleveland next week (?)  to continue evaluation  for possible surgery (w/ Dr. Cosgrove).   Do you think this is a possibility? . She has been in generally good health and physically active these last 11 years. If they did surgery would they wait until she was stonger? Repair or replacement? Would she ever be considered for the minimal invasive surgery?  Is she too old to be considered for heart transplant?  What will happen w/o surgery? How many times can you go into CHF? How long would recovery be for someone having valve repair? What is the success rate for this type of surgery? Can you do valve repair or replacement w/o stopping the heart? Is this more dangerous w/ a weak heart muscle?   We hear Dr. Cosgrove and staff are the best ! hope you can help her.    Thankyou so  much.

[CCF CARDIO MD APS]

Dear Sue,
Dr. Cosgrove and Dr. Hammer's teams are more than capable of answering all of these
questions, which are the general questions that most families have regarding their loved
ones when they arrive at the Cleveland Clinic for heart surgery.
I can say that there will be a continued evaluation of your mother, not just
in regards to what surgical procedure is best suited for her heart condition, but
also what the timing should be considering all the medical issues (infection, nutrition, etc.)
and which therapies/surgeries are the most likely to make her feel better if not live longer
and not put at too great a risk (i.e. not make it likely that she will not make it through the surgery.)
A person can go in to CHF many times a year, although this is unlikely when
they are on good medicines and or they have had surgery to have the valves fixed.
It sounds as if your mother will be at higher than the usual risk in undergoing
open hert surgery in that she is elderly and her heart muscle is weak.  These exact
numbers will be discussed with you and your mother by the cardiac and cardiothoracic
surgery teams following her readmission and reevalution.
Good Luck, and you are right, you are in the best hands.