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@andytheman

Well, I’m 70 and in fairly decent shape but I’m beholden to blood draws once a week for life. Are you saying that a bovine valve doesn’t need INR and PT tests every week? I think I heard that somewhere as well.
I didn’t want surgery on my heart every 10-15 years. It was only done through open heart surgery in those days. Now it’s not necessary to open you up except for a few people and that TAVR or whatever it’s called is better. I didn’t know that in 2012 and neither did the number one heart valve surgeon that did my surgery.

So I opted for the mechanical one with a 40 year lifespan. If I need it replaced I would probably not be a good candidate for TAVR as that type surgery places a new valve over the old one by going through your groin.

My valve leaked and I don’t think placing a new valve over the old one would work. Anyway, it’s ticking away just fine.

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Replies to "Well, I’m 70 and in fairly decent shape but I’m beholden to blood draws once a..."

the valve you have is probably great for younger candidates, but I was 90 and surgery was not a viable option. I had the TOVR. Very quick, quite painless, and a much better option than ""just wait and see". Recovery is very quick. I take a child's aspirin every day. No Coumadin. I do need some B.P. Medication. Hopefully, if I later need to replace this valve, there will be even greater progress in the replacement process, or at my age, I may just outlive the need.
Gina5009