Hello,
I've been lurking here awhile, reluctant to post because putting it down in black and white somehow makes things more real.
I'm 52, female, live in the UK and was diagnosed with BAV a couple of years back following a routine checkup. Well, I say routine, it wasn't quite. I had a full cardiac MOT when I hit 50 and was pronounced to have a 'golden' heart. About 10 months later I was hospitalised briefly for suspected pericarditis and when I went with my husband to visit the same cardiologist (my husband had surgery for atrial fibrillation a few years back), I mentioned my stay in hospital and he decided to run some more tests.
(FWIW I suspect that the pericarditis may, in fact, have been shingles, although I can't be sure. They certainly couldn't hear or find any evidence of pericarditis at the hospital).
This time, they found I had BAV with dilated aorta 4.5cm - with an echo and MRI. I have had it checked again recently and the measurements remain the same.
I am pretty active, walking about 8 miles a day with no significant health issues other than an under-active thyroid gland and all the fun and games that come with the menopause.
I recently started to have some symptoms of tiredness , trouble getting a good breath and a feeling of fullness in my throat. A blood test showed that my thyroid was causing problems (specifically a T3/T4 conversion issue). I decided to visit an Endocrinologist who suggest that the thyroid issue was related to the menopause and suggested I try Bio-identical HRT. That seems to have done the trick, and right now I feel OK. I think the alternative may have been a T3 supplement which can have cardiac and blood pressure issues I believe, so I feel that the bio-HRT is possibly the lesser of the two evils.
My cardiologist is emphatic that not everyone with BAV needs surgery, but I suspect he is just trying to allay my fears. He is a general cardiologist and he intends to continue monitoring me until such time that things change when I would be referred on. Although he missed the BAV first time round, I like him and feel comfortable with him.
Part of me thinks I should get on with my life and not get bogged down reading about things that may or may not happen, yet I know that it is preferable to be well-informed. Unfortunately, stress and acute anxiety get hold of me sometimes and I have be known to work myself up into a terrible state over health issues in the past.
Thank you very much to all the wonderful people who contribute to this forum. I spent years (and many hours) researching my husband's AF on a similarly inspiring forum. He's now 'cured' to all intents and purposes - I didn't think I'd be going through the same thing for myself a couple of years later!
I've been lurking here awhile, reluctant to post because putting it down in black and white somehow makes things more real.
I'm 52, female, live in the UK and was diagnosed with BAV a couple of years back following a routine checkup. Well, I say routine, it wasn't quite. I had a full cardiac MOT when I hit 50 and was pronounced to have a 'golden' heart. About 10 months later I was hospitalised briefly for suspected pericarditis and when I went with my husband to visit the same cardiologist (my husband had surgery for atrial fibrillation a few years back), I mentioned my stay in hospital and he decided to run some more tests.
(FWIW I suspect that the pericarditis may, in fact, have been shingles, although I can't be sure. They certainly couldn't hear or find any evidence of pericarditis at the hospital).
This time, they found I had BAV with dilated aorta 4.5cm - with an echo and MRI. I have had it checked again recently and the measurements remain the same.
I am pretty active, walking about 8 miles a day with no significant health issues other than an under-active thyroid gland and all the fun and games that come with the menopause.
I recently started to have some symptoms of tiredness , trouble getting a good breath and a feeling of fullness in my throat. A blood test showed that my thyroid was causing problems (specifically a T3/T4 conversion issue). I decided to visit an Endocrinologist who suggest that the thyroid issue was related to the menopause and suggested I try Bio-identical HRT. That seems to have done the trick, and right now I feel OK. I think the alternative may have been a T3 supplement which can have cardiac and blood pressure issues I believe, so I feel that the bio-HRT is possibly the lesser of the two evils.
My cardiologist is emphatic that not everyone with BAV needs surgery, but I suspect he is just trying to allay my fears. He is a general cardiologist and he intends to continue monitoring me until such time that things change when I would be referred on. Although he missed the BAV first time round, I like him and feel comfortable with him.
Part of me thinks I should get on with my life and not get bogged down reading about things that may or may not happen, yet I know that it is preferable to be well-informed. Unfortunately, stress and acute anxiety get hold of me sometimes and I have be known to work myself up into a terrible state over health issues in the past.
Thank you very much to all the wonderful people who contribute to this forum. I spent years (and many hours) researching my husband's AF on a similarly inspiring forum. He's now 'cured' to all intents and purposes - I didn't think I'd be going through the same thing for myself a couple of years later!
