Timing of surgery

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I am so glad I found this site!
I was originally diagnosed with mitral and aortic regurg. 10 yrs. ago. My echos have stayed essentially stable and last Feb. I did a Bruce protocol stress test.....lasted 9 min. which my cardio thought very good. Now he brought up the possibility of surgery, which I thought perhaps I would escape.

Does having long-term regurg inevitably weaken the heart? Mitral is severe, aortic mod/sev.
I know that it should be done before any heart enlargement occurs, but are there warning signs? After he brought it up I feel like I am more tired!!! Psychological maybe..... I have an appt. to discuss this with him in 2 weeks, but would appreciate some input from those of you dealing with the same situation.

Thanks.

Pat
 
Hi
I have mild mitral regurgitation. I also did a nine minute stress test. They said it was great. My dr says he does not recommend surgery at this point. He says we will know when it is time by frequent visits and more synptoms. At this point I don't have many symptoms. I am 54 and he said why have the surgery before i have too. Two drs. have told me the same thing so i will wait and hope they are right. I guess it depends on how bad yours is.Keep me posted. Would like to hear what you end up doing. I am new at all of this having just found out a month or so ago. I also bring on alot of symptoms by being stressed out. When I found out i now have all sorts of pains!!!
Bobbie
 
Hi Pat,

Hope you will get some more insight in your next app. Do you have recent echo results with sizes of your heart chambers? If you have been followed for 10 years, I would think they are measuring all that to keep track of the progression. I have been diagnosed with mod-severe mitral regurg recently and my doc said she will keep track of the LV size by doing an echo every 6 months.

Are you worried about CHF? I would think if you have been regularly checked for regurg the doctors are talking surgery before it gets to that point. I know what you mean by feeling symptoms after being told. I get fatigued too but never thought anything of it before the dx.

Best of luck with everything and keep us posted.

Nupur
 
After he brought it up I feel like I am more tired!!! Psychological maybe.
Pat

Welcome to this wonderful helpful site.
I do not think feeling more tired after being told is psychological. You, maybe, in my humble opinion, more aware of it, and/or getting more tired. The regurgitation does weaken the heart's muscle as it has to pump harder, and with time, it gets enlarged. The echo results showing the size of the valves, ejection fraction, and the size of the heart's chambers dedicate the time of the surgery. The good news is that after the surgery, the heart muscle will regain its elasticity back if the enlargement was not too bad.
Before my cardio told me I needed the surgery, I thought my shotness of breath were tension sighs!!:p Later, I became more aware of my fatigue and shotness of breath.

Keep us posted and good luck.
 
I am so glad I found this site!
I was originally diagnosed with mitral and aortic regurg. 10 yrs. ago. My echos have stayed essentially stable and last Feb. I did a Bruce protocol stress test.....lasted 9 min. which my cardio thought very good. Now he brought up the possibility of surgery, which I thought perhaps I would escape.

Does having long-term regurg inevitably weaken the heart? Mitral is severe, aortic mod/sev.
I know that it should be done before any heart enlargement occurs, but are there warning signs? After he brought it up I feel like I am more tired!!! Psychological maybe..... Thanks.

Pat

I have been dx'd with +4 regurg. No mention of waiting or watching. Just "shut up and schedule the surgery". I had no symptoms before the dx, now it seems I'm exhausted (could be because I have had no sleep in three months).
 
Welcome Aboard Pat !

Do you have copies of ALL of your Echocardiogram Reports?

If not, I highly recommend getting them.

FWIW, I Chart ALL of my Echo parameters on a Spread Sheet.
That way, any changes become immediately obvious,
probably before the usual 'triggers' based on "Normal" ranges (i.e. you could go from Low Normal to High Normal and no one would ever pick up that there was any change)

You will want to pay close attention to Valve Areas, Gradients, Ejection Fraction, and chamber sizes.

When it comes to deciding WHEN to have surgery,
I think that Surgeons have a better 'feel' for making that call, especially in regard to Surgical Benefit and Outcome.

It's a good idea to interview surgeons BEFORE you become critical so that you don't end up making a surgeon choice from a gurney in an ER somewhere!

'AL Capshaw'
 
Al Capsaw wrote:

"It's a good idea to interview surgeons BEFORE you become critical so that you don't end up making a surgeon choice from a gurney in an ER somewhere!"

Welcome to VR, Pat. I think Al's advice is great.

I've set up a consulatation with a surgeon for November even though I'm not considered severe just yet. Why not? Why wait until you keel over to at least get an opinion from a surgeon and start the surgeon selection process?

My last cardio's report states that I have been "cautioned" to seek attention if I develop any of the severe category AV disease symptoms. Excuse me, but that's like saying get that flat tire fixed after you've driven on it for a few miles and damaged it. Time to get proactive and out a little ahead of the situation, it seems to me.

Jim
 
Thanks to all!

I have many of my echo reports. However, they all seem to be in different formats and list different information or maybe some of the same info but in such a different way that it is meaningless to me. I have had them done in 3 different places, including the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

What are severe symptoms?

Pat
 
I know what you mean about the echo reports...it's all very confusing. My reports range from mild to severe to moderately-severe w/without atrial enlargement, mild to moderate pulmonary hypertension. I honestly don't know what's WHAT. As for severe symptoms, I have them. I'm short of breath with and without exertion, have peripheral edema, pulmonary congestion, cough, palpitations, chest discomfort as well as extreme fatigue. Everyones different, I guess...but this is what I've been experiencing as a result. Best of luck to you, D
 
Thanks to all!

What are severe symptoms?

Pat

In my case, the severe symptoms I had to watch out were shortness of breath and inability to do my daily chores. With time I stopped cooking, became short of breath while standing, sometimes while sitting down, and after and during a telephone conversation. Others may have had other symptoms. Good luck.
 
I had no symptoms that I could tell. My cardio seemed to agree that I had few if any symptoms such as shortness of breath, swelling around the ankles/legs or any other visible sign.
Yet all of my echos reported enlargement. My cardio wanted me to have mitral valve surgery done based on echo and MRA reports two years before I finally had it done. He was very concerned and encouraged me to have it fixed to protect my heart from damage.
 

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