I had the cow valve and had to take coumadin for 3 months and then a 30 day monitor of the heart . The readings from the monitor showed minor afib so the specialist cardiologist did not want to add any medications at this time and I am not scheduled to see him for a year. My regular cardiologist did prescribe Xarelto daily though. I had the surgery in February and was in the hospital for 15 days because I was allergic to Heparin and became anemic. It was the first time I was ever in a hospital and hopefully my last. I have not had cardio rehab because I have arthritis in the hip and was limited to what exercises I could do. According to the surgeon I'm good for 20 years! 🙂