New to the group and heart issues in general

[PhillipCinci]

Hello everyone...thanks for the group and all the info. posted.

A little info on my situation. I am a 40 year old male and I live in Fairfield Ohio ( Northwest of Cincinnati). Over the last 4-6 months I have been having symptoms of fatigue, night sweats and mild fevers. Visited my general physician many times and he could not identify anything specific. Around Aug. 8th I ended up in the emergency room with a pain and numbness in my lower left arm and hand. In the emergency room they discovered that I had no pulse in my left wrist. They called in a vascular surgeon and he did an emergency surgery to remove a blockage, or emboli as they called it. They also discovered that I had endocarditis (infection of the lining of my heart) and a severe murmur. I spent about 8 days in the hospital and they sent me home to continue the antibiotics thru the pick line in my right arm. I was home for two days and ended up in the hospital with congestive heart failure symptoms. I stayed in the hospital 10 more days awaiting Mitral valve replacement surgery, which still has not taken place. The surgeons do not want to perform the surgery until they feel the infection is gone, they said if the new valve gets infected it would be a catastrophe. So....I see the surgeon today to see if we can get this scheduled, have been on the antibiotics for 5 weeks and the CHF symptoms get worse by the day. Wish me luck!
Thanks again for all the info.

 

[hensylee]

mornin, Phillip and welcome to VR. Since you live in Ohio, lots will come in to tell you about Cleveland Clinic where many members have been to get valve replacement. Sorry you are going through such a bad time, but others here have been through the same and you will be hearing from them in a short. Glad you found this site - you'll get much here that your dr probably doesn't tell you about. Personal experiences, that is.

We will support you as you approach the mountain ahead and wait for you on the other side. Keep us posted as to when your surgery is scheduled when you know.

Thanks for coming in.

p.s. ask questions.

 

[twinmaker]

Welcome Phillip! We're happy to have you aboard. It sounds as though you've been through a lot in the last weeks. There are many knowledgeable people on this site so you've come to the right place. Your doctors are right about wanting to make sure that you have no infections going on when they do your surgery. Keep us informed and let us know what the surgeon says today about your surgery date. Again, welcome! LINDA

 

[Cooker]

Hi Phillip,

Welcome to vr.com!! This is the place to be for support and information. Man, you are going through the ringer!!! I wish you well. Keep us posted.

 

[Karlynn]

Welcome Phillip - you have certainly had many battles so far. You will find a lot of support and information here. Keep us posted on what goes on. Best wishes.

 

[WayneGM]

Welcome to the VR community, Phillip. Sorry you're having to go through so much so quickly but glad you found us.

Best wishes and good luck.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Yep, kill the infection, then have surgery.

Be sure to ask the surgeon about how many MVR's he does a year. Also ask how many heart surgeries are done per year at the hospital.

Active surgeons perform 200 or more heart surgeries / year. The best Heart Hospitals perform several hundred per year. The #1 rated Heart Hospital is the Cleveland Clinic. I believe there are a couple of good Heart Hospitals around Dayton (I checked because I sometimes travel there). I'm not familiar with the hospitals in Cincinnati.

While you are waiting, you may want to browse thorugh the Valve Selection Forum. Start with the "Sticky" posts which give a broad based view of the options.

You will want to learn about Anti-Coagulation Therapy (Coumadin / Generic Warfarin) if you opt for a Mechanical Valve. See www.warfarinfo.com and the Anti-Coagulation Forum on VR.com.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[liza]

Hi!
Welcome to VR.com! You'll find lots of great info. It's nice to see a fellow Buckeye on here! I live in Portsmouth, OH now but had my surgery 2 years ago when I lived in Columbus. I also had endocarditis so I understand what you are going through with that. Keep us updated on your situation, you'll find some great support here.

Good luck!
Liza

 

[Susan BAV]

Hi Phillip. Welcome to the site; glad you found it. You've really been through a lot already, haven't you? Hope all goes well with the consultation and your surgery. Post again and take care.

 

[PegB]

Hi Philip,

I haven't been here much, because my mitral valve surgery was almost a year ago, and everything went so well, that I have almost forgotten that I ever had a heart condition. I live in Mason, so I hope I might be of some help for you. I see Dr. Suna at Mercy Fairfield (part of Greater Cinti. Cardiovascular consultants), but as you were warned...if your insurance will cover it...get yourself to Cleveland Clinic!!!! They are #1 in the country, and it doesn't sound like you have a routine condition going on. Whoever you are seeing here, should happily refer you up there, and once they get your records, and echoes, etc. they can move pretty quickly. Might be worth it just as a second opinion. I had my surgery there, and it was truly no big deal. My surgeon is no longer doing surgery, but I have heard that Dr. Pettersson is the current Wizard up there. I think the pschological aspect of going to the best is really important as well. You've had a lot dumped on you in a short time, and I wish you the best with whatever you decide.

Stay close to this amazing site, and ask everything you can. These people will calm your nerves, and have insights that the best Drs. out there aren't even aware of. I really can't praise them enough....let them help you.

 

[CathyK.]

Phillip - Another welcome!! This site is great for infor and support. Good Luck and I hope things turn around for you!!

 

[Bina]

Hello Phillip, welcome to the zoo.
Things are moving very quickly for you, but that is a good thing!
No more waiting and wondering why you feel ill.
Best wishes for your surgeon visit today.

 

[geebee]

Welcome.

I used to live in Fairfield (off Route 4 bypass) so happy to see another local person join.

You have certainly had stuff thrown at you pretty quickly so you and your family must be spinning. However, it sounds like you have good people watching out for you.

They are right to wait until the infection is gone before doing OHS as that can cause more problems than you need to deal with. I am sure they will perform surgery as soon as possible. They would do surgery with the infection if it became immediately life threatening but much better to hold off.

BTW - I had my last surgery at Jewish Hospital and everything went great despite my having a ton of issues going in. There are a lot of great doctors in Cincinnati so don't be afraid to have surgery here if the Cleveland Clinic is out. My insurance wouldn't allow me to go there when I had my last surgery but I wasn't really sure about leaving town anyway so that cinched the decision.

Please let us know how we can help.

 

[joanne6]

Welcome Phillip

Welcome Phillip

You really are going through quite a bit in a short time. I had my mitral valve surgery 2 years ago. I knew I had mitral valve prolapse but had no idea I would need surgery. I was told in July and had the surgery in August.
Just get the infection out of the way and then deal with the surgery. The doctors are right about any infection destroying the work on the valve.
Take care and keep posting.

 

[tcopel]

Just wanted to say to you, as others have done, welcome. Please feel free to ask anything and everything. This site is wonderful source of encouragement and information by many others who have been down the road you are currently on. You can vent, scream, or whatever ever questions pop into your mind.