Echo Results, now what?

[liam13]

Had my echo yesterday expecting it to show things had gone downhill. Well, the LV is the same size (72mm diastolic - I am 6ft 4inches tall), the systolic number improved a bit, and the cardiologist said the heart functioning was quite strong. I was on the treadmill for 12 minutes without alot of problems, and that's as long as they run it here. He wasnts to do another echo in a year. He did give me the names of a couple of surgeons to consult with if I choose to. I know some of the nurses at the hospital where I'll have the surgery and a couple of the names were the same. I did set up a consultation for july 12, a day before my 47th birthday. I went in expecting that I'd be setting up a surgery date around then. So heart function and size are not in worrisome shape, the symptoms are a bit of a problem, so that is why I'm still moving ahead, albeit a bit slower than before when all I wanted to do was to get into that surgical suite. Any comments I'd love to hear, really value the input here. Thanks Liam

 

[temp69]

Uwill be fyyyyynnnneeee!!

Uwill be fyyyyynnnneeee!!

Main thing is, they do so many of these procedures that you will be in good hands just about everywhere you go. having said that, do some research and find the best hospital your insurance plan will cover and go for it. buisness week publishes a study each year rating the hospitals. google away, my friend.

you can email me and tell me what type of surgery you're going for. I had a bypass, an aneurysm repair and a valve replaced. when they go in, they want to take care of everything!!!

i am now 56 and had the surgery not quite a year ago and i feel pretty damn good. you;ll be surprised. good luck and godspeed!!!

 

[Ross]

Let the surgeon review your records and see what he says. They prefer to operate before damage starts. Cardios prefer to wait for things to start going South before sending you to a surgeon.

 

[67walkon]

What Ross said. The local cardio looked at my echo and told me to come back in 6 months, but did recommend I start thinking about surgery sometime in the 6 month to 2 year window. The surgeon ordered a CT scan and discovered that my ascending aorta was at a very dangerous size; according to him and the AHA guidelines, it needs to be surgically corrected, so I'm scheduled for July 6

Local cardiologists scare me. They are primarily dealing with old, sedentary people. At 57, I might be old to some, but I don't consider myself old. I do not want to wait for heart damage, and I do think the locals would rather wait for symptoms.

What really troubles me is that no one locally was watching that aorta and I think they should have.

Ross is wise on these things. Listen to him.

 

[tcopel]

Ditto on the above posts.I saw a cardiologist initially, who made recommendations that clearly different than what three different well thought of cardiac surgeons suggested after they reviewed my CT scans.

 

[liam13]

Thanks for all of the replies. I'll let ya'll know what the surgeon has to say next month. Liam

 

[Adam 12-21-05]

All great points above regarding strategies post-echo.

 

[Janea]

Hi Liam,
I noticed you are from Seattle. I grew up in Bellevue but live in Federal Way with my own family now. Where are you thinking about having your surgery done? I deliberated heavily between UW and St. Jospeph's in Tacoma. It was a difficult decision. You may not be at that point yet. You can PM me if you have any questions about this sort of thing. It is nice to meet someone who lives locally who has been through OHS before. As for what you should do now that you have had yoru echo....well, I had the reverse problem...no symptoms but my echos kept getting worse. I am very glad I had the surgery when I did because my heart almost wasn;t able to recover from the surgery and waiting longer would have been catastrophic so I tend to lean onthe early intervention side of things. If they don't want another echo for another year than you must look pretty good. Definately a decision for you to weigh with your cardio. Good luck! --Janea

 

[liam13]

I was really quite active yesterday, and am paying for it today. Is this other's experiences? My fatigue, near-syncopal feeling is just wicked today. I did move up my surgery consult to july 5th. Hope to put surgery off until fall or winter, but how I feel today - I'd do the surgery today. So eventhough the structure of the heart didn't concern the cardiologist, the symptoms are kicking my butt. I heard back from the On-X gal and she said the hospital where I'd have the surgery done has only done 2 of those this year. Hmmmm. We'll see. Want someone who has done at least of a few of them. Liam

 

[ALCapshaw2]

I was really quite active yesterday, and am paying for it today. Is this other's experiences? My fatigue, near-syncopal feeling is just wicked today. I did move up my surgery consult to july 5th. Hope to put surgery off until fall or winter, but how I feel today - I'd do the surgery today. So eventhough the structure of the heart didn't concern the cardiologist, the symptoms are kicking my butt. I heard back from the On-X gal and she said the hospital where I'd have the surgery done has only done 2 of those this year. Hmmmm. We'll see. Want someone who has done at least of a few of them. Liam

Did she mean they had only done 2 surgeries with On-X valves this year OR, they have only done 2 Valve Replacement Surgeries of ANY type this year?

If the latter, RUN, do not walk to the nearest BIG HEART Hospital (such as the University of Washington).

Check Johnny Stephens STORY (under 2 valves). He had his very complex surgery at UW.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[liam13]

Only 2 On-X valves. They do alot of valve surgeries at Swedish. Probably as many as UW does. Not sure if my insurance would cover UW, but somethng to consider and ask about. Liam

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Two of our members have been "first time" On-X Valve recipients. Randy at Cleveland Clinic and ??? in Colorado. Both came through with NO problems.

A surgeon I consulted said he saw "NO problem" implanting an On-X valve. ("A valve is a valve..." at least when it comes to sewing in a mechanical valve. They all have a sewing cuff and a support ring.)

'AL Capshaw'