echo changes in 5 months

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Valve Replacement Forums

Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

sonya489

Hey Yall,
It's been awhile since I have been here & I need some expert opnions from all of you..

I recently had a new echo and my #'s have changed alot I will post the old & the new side by side then I need to be armed with as much information as I can be before I go to the cardio next Friday...I also want questions that I should ask...

OLD ............. NEW

AI 18%.......... AI 42% = 4+

MR 24%......... MR 29% = 2+

LA 6.0 .......... LA 4.7

EF 62% .......... EF 57%

PAP N/A........... PAP 36

Ok as you can see my % have increased alot on my aortic regurgitation some on my mitral,the left atrium seems to be smaller now,the ejection fraction has dropped and I now I have a problem with pulmonary artery pressure.
I think this has all been in about a 5-month period of time it seems things are moving really fast...
What do yall think about this?
What should I ask the Dr.?
How close am I getting to having to have surgery in your opinions?
I am not on any heart or blood pressure meds at all and I have read that many of these meds interfere with thyroid medication which I am on....
Give me all the information you can give me my symptoms are still dizziness,some bruisness feeling in the chest and extreme fatigue..and hear lately headaches which I usually don't get..

Thanks,
Sonya

:)
 
Last edited:
I think I'd ask the Doc about the future on this one. To me, it looks like you may be having surgery within a year or less, but as these things go, it could be longer. You are symptomatic and do show some deterioration, though I don't see it as critical, but then again, I'm not a Doctor.

Before I shoot myself in the foot, it would be best to ask the Doctor. ;)
 
Well I am getting my questions ready for him 4 sure he is going to have to spend some time with me.
I have found out that when a echo is in % now I know the # thing.

20-29% = 2+
30-39% = 3+
40-49% = 4+
50-59% = 5+

So that tells me I have 1 valve at 4+ and 1 valve at 2+.
Do they usually repair both valves at the same time or replace both at the same time?



Sonya
:)
 
sonya

sonya

I have had numerous valve repairs/replacements and yes they will repair/replace both at the same time if they have to. They are not going to risk having to go in again soon after. Ask your card all the questions you can think of to ask. There's nothing to silly. Good Luck Peggy
 
Hi Sonya - I don't think you are getting many responses because I don't think people know how to interpret the numbers and give you an opinion. I thought I would give my opinion, however I am not an expert.
1 - I had two valves done (one repaired, one homograft). One was definely worse than the other. I think it is a matter of judgement by your cardio, but I suspect they would want to do both while you are open.
2 - I don't know about the other symptoms, but extreme fatigue is definitely a symptom of your heart leakage.
3 - You would think that the LA would get bigger as it degrades.
4 - The AI number looks too big a change, I would guess there is something wrong with the reading.
5 - I don't know anything about the Thyroid medicine.
My understanding of the regurgitation is that you can wait, maybe six months, but that depends on how fast your condition is changing and if you are above threshold for surgery for the parameters you listed. Your EF is still good, but you don't want to wait until it gets bad.
I hope this helps a little and someone else responds to your posting.
 
Ross,Pegne,Bill,

Thanks you for responding to my question. I also did not understand the % but now since I have the breakdown it makes more since to me..

Do they always have to do the surgery like a open heart surgey is there a better way or not?

How long was it after you had the surgery was it that you felt better and were able to return to your normal duties?

What was yalls EF when surgery was done as well as what were your valves rated as?


Sonya
 
Sonja:

My husband had two valves replaced with St. Jude's. His mitral valve leaked worse than the aortic. His EF was at 40% at the time of the surgery. He got real bad just before the surgery. He went into a-fib, and it is now chronic. If you need the surgery, sooner is better than later, and yes, they will do both at the same time. Do it before you go into congestive heart failure.
Best wishes.......Marybeth
 
Thank you Marybeth,

I ask this dr. if I should be put on meds at my last visit he said no now I am wondering if that might have slowed this down if he would have put me on something..
I cant wait for my appt. with him to see what he says..



Sonya
 
Hello Sonya,

One question I would definately ask is for a referal to a SURGEON.

Cardiologists seem to like to postpone surgery as long as possible using Beta Blockers and ACE Inhibitors to lower internal blood pressures. This is OK up to the point where your heart begins to enlarge which can lead to PERMANENT heart damage.

Surgeons tend to like to operate BEFORE there is any permanent damage which seems wise. The trick is deciding on when to do the surgery. I would get at least one opinion from a surgeon before you become 'critical'. I suspect I was going downhill fast the last 3 months before my surgery.

'AL'
 
Al,
Don't most surgeons like to do the surgery before the EF is at 50?
I don't want any more damage than I already have ...I mean fix me while I can be fixed.

I was doing some reading & research and I found the weird ekg's like mine that say heart attack can be from the regurgitation of the aortic so I am wondering why he never said that all he finally told me was it was probably an electrical problem with my heart..My thallium did show that I had not had a heart attack....so I was glad to know that....



Sonya
:)
 
Sonya like I said, trust your doctor. If you don't, find one that you do. My EF was 57% but my AI was 5+ Severe and Left Ventricle was enlarging at an alarming rate. They ran a stress test, gamma camera imaging, catheterization, CAT scan, and TEE. They thought I had a blood clot in the apex of my heart (Heart Attack). I saw it on the catheterization too. It turned out to be a cyst, not that that was any better then a clot, but at least it wasn't a heart attack. By the time I had surgery, I was in trouble and I believe I mentioned here on the forums that I thought I was. I almost didn't make it, so by all means, if signs point to surgery and the doctor is ho humming about it, see another doctor. :)
 
Hi Sonya,

Remarkably my EF was in the 60's prior to surgery with 4+ regurgitation and mild atrial enlargement. I don't think the EF alone will be an indicator for surgery. I am almost 4 years out and recently had a scare with an echo where they logged and EF of 40 something. Had further testing and it was an error.

If my EF was low....they were going to put me on an ace inhibitor to increase function as my valve is functioning properly.

Ask lots of questoins. Good luck to you.
 
Gina,
Thanks for your reply on this post...Can you tell me some real important questions that I should ask my cardio?






Sonya
:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top