After Open Heart Surgery .

[LedZeppelin]

Hi ..17 years ago i had a mechanical heart valve and now take warfarin every day ....i have had cholesterol , blood pressure , blood checks once per year ,but only ever had a echo/EKG once in 17 years ...............well after a spite of high blood pressure readings , i had my second ECG just last week and a problem has been found ..i now have to go for more tests as my results were .[results were ECG SR but irregular , ST depression in chest leads ] .........................is having just one ECG test in 17 years standard practice ... in the UK ....? only after mentioning this on Facebook page " heart valve surgery support group " the comments are no one can believe i have only been checked just once and they all have an annual ECG check ...however none of them reside in the UK ....Germany ..USA .. Canada ..

[andy110519]

Hi, I had my mechanical valve nearly six years ago and have had a few ECGs but only when I have had chest pains that GP/hospital have decided warrant an ECG. I don't get regular checks as it's a mechanical valve, I know those with animal valves get regular checks under the NHS.Take care.

Andy

[DWizza]

I had nstemi and quadruple bypass July 2023. At my annual consultation I was told that I would have lipid blood tests once a year to check cholesterol levels and if no problems then “possibly” ECG/EKG every 5 years. It is my belief and experience that the NHS is fantastic at emergency treatment but not so good at keeping tabs on its patients after due to failing coordination in hospitals and GP surgeries. I’ve had to keep on top of my dear old mother’s appointments for Parkinson’s and my own cholesterol tests (and other appointments) . My mother’s Parkinson’s nurse told me that she needs annual reviews with the consultant and that I would have to book them via the consultants secretary and not wait for an invitation. It is common for patients to be left off the schedule for a year then left off completely.

[Coper10]

I had aortic valve replacement in 2021 (mechanical valve) and have had an annual CT scan from then onwards to check all's well. I have been found to have Marfan syndrome so should get life long monitoring but this may change to MRI, as long term CTs are not ideal from a radiation exposure point of view.