My husband was told he had to have heart surgery within 2 months. he has leakage of the mitral and aorta. he is putting it off until he can save some money to pay the bills. he is talking around the end of may or june. the doctor said it was serious bu

Heart : Heart valve disease certainly can be very serious, but what is also important to recognize is that the degree of severity is often over interpreted or mis-diagnosed. Most of these diagnoses are made by echocardiography (ultrasound) and different providers can have different levels of skills in interpretation. By the current care guidelines, we recommend surgery once the leakage (regurgitation) has become severe and the patient is symptomatic or there are other significant changes seen on ultrasound. I would highly recommend seeking a second opinion prior to surgery to ensure that surgery is indeed needed soon or if it can wait. The problem with valve disease is that once it reaches the stage of needing surgery (as long as this is an appropriate recommendation) we know that patients will typically have a fairly progressive decline and there is an increasing risk of death the further out you go. This is why an accurate diagnosis is so very important. I know this must be tough on you both and i hope that you can find a solution that will keep him safe and in your house.

Okay to wait: Valvular disease will lead to heart failure. Therefore it must be dealt with. It is okay to wait as long as the heart chambers are of normal size, they are not progressively enlarging, and symptoms (usually chest pain, shortness of breath) are stable. If chambers are enlarging (found by echocardiagram) or symptoms are worsening, get the surgery asap.