First of all folks I got a mechanical St Jude aortic valve in 2012.
It makes absolutely no sound unless you put a stethoscope on it. My cardiovascular surgeon said that it clicks nice an crisp except there is a slight murmur starting to come from my heart but like I said. I only heard it through a stethoscope. Yes, I’m on Coumadin for life. The lab comes to my house every Wednesday morning and by 3:00 my INR level comes up on my phone and an order from the doctor comes in by 4:00 for determining if I should use a 2mg or 4mg. It does cause problems though.
I have surgery coming up and my cardiovascular doctor has to instruct the surgeons how much to give me or hold off. My dentist found a tooth that must be extracted (which causes me to bleed profusely.) they are waiting for his instructions. My esophagus needs to be stretched because food and liquids come up and aspirated into my lungs causing pneumonia. Not good. I need my surgeon to instruct my gastroenterologist. My right vocal cord is paralyzed so my cardiovascular surgeon needs to give approval. Colonoscopy also requires approval because I tend to have polyps. Cutting polyps causes bleeding. I’m still happy I stuck with a mechanical aortic valve though.

Blood thinners are a lot better than embalming fluid for me. Just kidding as it’s not a joke but I hear or feel my valve only through a stestacope. A doctor will ask if I want to listen to it and it’s clicking nice and sharp.