I had my aortic valve replaced in 2012 because it was leaking blood. It was suspected by my cardiologist because he kept hearing a murmur. Bovine or mechanical? Those were my 2 choices.

Bovine had an up to 10 year lifespan. The St June mechanical valve had a 40 year lifespan. I chose the mechanical. It was a no brainer. The best valve replacement doctor in my state was contacted by my cardiologist.

I went to the hospital and After a set of tests and bloodwork I was rolled into a room and waited for a short time.

The operation room is scary and cold and uncomfortable.
Lying on my back on a flat table kind of slab with no blanket I was freezing. But they informed me what they were going to do then put a mask on my mouth and nose to inhale. That was the anesthesia. I went out like a light.

There was no TVAR at the time . Just slit me from my lower neck to the top of my abdomen. I didn’t feel a thing. I was intubated down my throat and they took over my breathing with the heart/ lung machine.

They split my rib cage, stopped my heart so it could stay still. I had tubes and lines everywhere they were needed and a catheter to a foley. The foley is the device at your feet in the event you urinate. It all came down the catheter to the foley. The machine was breathing for me and pumped my blood. I remember having to put my right arm off the table so an intravenous line could be established at the beginning.

It took a few hours to do it and I was removed from the table into a nice comfortable bed. When I woke up I had a bag over my head dripping fluids so I wouldn’t dehydrate, I had an intravenous injection line in my arm to take blood out to make sure I didn’t catch an infection from the surgery.

I was in the cardiac intensive care unit and I stayed there for 2 weeks.
After that they rolled me into a regular room. About 3 days later they discharged me to rehab because I had forgotten how to walk because I was on my back all that time.

First it was a wheelchair, then a walker to a cane and they removed my foley. I was sent home with instructions to follow up at home. After a month the stitches had to come out and that was it.

I was prescribed Coumadin ( A blood thinner) I was told that I will need to stay on Coumadin the rest of my life. I was in my thirties. The blood lab sent a phlebotomist to my home every Wednesday morning.

She takes a vial of blood and faxes the results to my cardiologist who is monitoring my Coumadin level It always changes. Twice I had to go to an ER to bring my level up or lower the consistency.

Sometimes it’s too thick where I could get a clot anywhere in my body, especially in the mechanical valve. Or too thin where I could “bleed out”. Dangerous for my brain or heart. So here I am in 2023 and my heart is ticking like a 20 year old.

The scar is permanent but fades a bit every year. And I’m on Coumadin for life.
Sorry for this long and perhaps too graphic for some but I wanted to tell the experience I went through.

Now they can go through your groin and send a valve up to your heart ( if you qualify) and place it over the previous valve. It’s not for everybody I was told because people who already had a valve replaced they may have to open you up again if the current valve starts leaking. This is because the new non-invasive procedure places another valve where you already had it replaced the old fashioned way (like mine) By the way,
I’m on klonopin too. for my constant anxiety.