Checking in

[07sti]

Hello:

First and foremost, I feel infinite times better today than I did 3 days ago. Why? Because I spent hours on this site and doing research. The support here is amazing, and I'm glad to be part of such an awesome group.

Background

I was diagnosed with BAV when I was around 10. At that time the docs said they'd monitor it, but that many people go their whole lives without any issues. Others may need surgery "someday." Fast forward 20 years...I'm in relatively good shape. I play soccer and am generally active. For the last 3 weeks, I've been having an achy feeling behind the middle of my sternum. It's not constant, but enough of an annoyance that I felt I should have it checked out. My family doc said I was supposed to have an echo last year after my annual physical, which I don't recall discussing, so I'd better go have it done now. I don't remember the last time I even had an echo. Probably 15 years ago.

On Tuesday, I received a call from my doc's office telling me that I should plan to go to the follow up meeting that was pre-scheduled with a cardiologist. They said that everything from my echo looked good, except for some moderate regurgitation. I thought, oh, okay, well I'll discuss it with the cardiologist next week Monday.

After getting off the phone, I couldn't help but go to google to see what this moderate regurgitation was all about...After about 15 minutes of reading, panic set in. I literally spent the next 2 days (other than sleep and spending a few hours with my wife and son) on the internet trying to figure out what this meant. Like most here I'm sure, I went through so many emotions.

I called the doc's office yesterday and picked up a copy of my echo. After reading through it, everything is noted as "normal" other than the moderate regurgitation. I'm not the expert, but it looks to me like the Aortic root diameter and ascending aorta diameters are on the upper end of the normal side at 3.5 cm and 3.6 cm, respectively. However, my ejection fraction is 65%. We'll see what the cardiologist says on Monday.

After reading so many stories on here and looking at my echo, I feel much better. My guess, and hope, is that I'll have echos every year or two going forward, but I have no idea if I'm in the waiting room yet.

Thanks for sharing your stories, which makes this a great forum!

 

[pellicle]

Welcome aboard

 

[jmstallard]

Good luck! Like you, I was diagnosed early, and got in the mindset that it was just a problem on paper. It's kind of a rude awakening when it becomes a "real" problem.

 

[big_L]

Your descriptions of your emotions and response are virtually identical to mine this spring when the message changed for me. For 20 years - don't worry about it, then all of a sudden - worry about it.

I just had AVR 4 weeks ago. My aortic root was 3.3 or 3.5, depending on which echo you believe. It was described as mildly dilated and after visual examination, the surgeon decided to leave it alone.

You're doing the right thing getting all the information that you can. I would add that if you don't like your cardiologist for some reason, don't wait until you need surgery to find a different one (been there - got the T-shirt). You have time to start looking into your surgical options and asking around about surgeons and facilities.

Good Luck!

 

[Shellbell]

Hi 07sti.....

I was like you when i first found this site...I trolled for hours and hours. That was this spring, shortly after being told I was probably gonna need surgery "sometime before Xmas" by my cardiologist. My journey went like this

-10 years ago, told i had a heart murmur, went for my first echo
- was told I had a mild regurgitation in my aortal and would need an echo once a year to monitor it, no big dealio to me it seemed
- 5 years later i was told that I needed a cardiologost by my GP and that we were going to start doing echos every 6 months. Still, okay i can deal with that.
- met my cardiologist who told me that I would have to have replacement surgery "someday" for sure, possibly in the next 5 years. Wow, this was starting to get real. I was freaked for a few weeks, but it still seemed surreal, I felt fine and was only in my thirties.
- over the next few years i had a few stress echos, wore a holter monitor, and almost had an angio, was all up on the table waiting for it when the cardiologist there called mine and said she thought i didnt need any invasive testing yet. Phew i was soooooo relieved that day.
- last spring, my cardiologist told me it was time. I couldnt believe that even though 5 years earlier, when he said surgery was coming, that it was truly here. I had an angio in June, and met my surgeon a few weeks later. He told me that my ascending aorta was at 3.8 cm, and that he felt he should repair it now "while they're in there" doing my AVR.
-my surgery is on Tuesday.

I have found this site to be an amazing help both emotionally and as a great research/learning tool. I wish you all the best as you go forward and hope yours never gets too real :thumbup:

 

[AZ Don]

Glad you found this site. You'll find a lot of good info in these forum's and a lot of people that can understand what you are going through. I imagine most of us have done a lot of research on our conditions, I know I did.

 

[07sti]

Thank you for the responses/support!

I've done my best to keep my mind off of the appointment tomorrow, but can't help feeling a bit nervous and scared. I'll post an update tomorrow after meeting with the cardiologist.

 

[epstns]

You're having all of the normal feelings. I know from experience. If you have the time, look back in the archives over the last 11 years and you'll find the 9 years worth of similar learning I went through between diagnosis and surgery. Trust me, everything you are feeling is normal.

Welcome to The Waiting Room, the virtual room where many folks await their own turns at valve surgery.

 

[07sti]

Well I met with the cardiologist this morning. He said that determining the degree of regurgitation isn't an exact science, but he agrees that it is moderate. Based on his review of my echo, he feels I will be fine to wait 2 years to have another one. He did not place any restrictions on exercising and wants me to continue living as normal as possible. He could not give me any idea on if/when I may need surgery, as everyone's body is different. The only concern I have is not knowing how quickly it may progress. I don't know how long the regurgitation has been moderate since I haven't had an echo in 15+ years.

For now, I'm going to trust the doc and do my best to forget about it. I'll continue to check in here and try to offer support to others if I can.

Thanks again,

Travis

 

[epstns]

Travis - That's pretty much what I did. I was diagnosed in 2002 with moderate to severe aortic stenosis. We watched it and waited until I was ready for surgery, which turned out to be over 9 years. During that time I never forgot what was ahead, but I learned not to dwell on it. I just went ahead and lived my life until I finally told my cardio "I'm tired of being this tired." That was in December, 2010. I had surgery in February, 2011 and really haven't looked back. Once you gain comfort with what the future holds for you, you can get back to living life until the future becomes the present.

 

[neil]

cant really add anything more than steve has already stated,but welcome aboard