mitral problem???

[dlangton]

I'm trying to help a French friend who recently arrived and is staying here with us. He just received the results of his echocardiogram stress test from France. There is a slight language issue interpreting the report but also I am more of an aortic-valve geek and not too familiar with his issues, which are as follows:

Hypertropyhic cardiomyopathy, septal , obstructive with a maximum gradient of 125mmhg at rest. His EF is excellent at 69% so the aortic valve is not an issue. He has recently noticed a rapid change in his tendency to become tired after minimal effort and is yawning a lot more than before, though his (French) cardio-geek said that didn't matter. That is all the info he's got and can give me. Sorry, I know it's sketchy but I wonder if anyone knows of a source for decoding such symptoms.

---William

 

[Adrienne]

It was not only my mitral valve which was repaired, but I speak French. If your French friend wants to PM me with exactly what his echocardiogram report says, I can try to help.

With the info you wrote, it sounds like his valve is stenotic and it sounds as if the the left ventricle is probably dilated, but don't quote me on what I just said because what you wrote is a bit sketchy, so I am guessing.

 

[catwoman]

William:

If he is yawning & becoming tired after minimal effort, he needs to have more tests (TEE? heart cath?) or perhaps see another cardio. He's heading toward the OR.

The yawning caught my attention. Beginning about 10-12 weeks pre-op, I started yawning -- yawned all day long, constantly apologizing to others.
Fatigue is another sign of the heart going downhill. Some days I was so tired I fell asleep while at a restaurant awaiting service.

 

[Susan BAV]

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy rings a bell with me. My dad had it, first diagnosed as an "athletic heart." It's progressive and became quite bad for him and he would pass out and drop hard, even down long flights of stairs. He always needed oxygen for about an hour when he would wake up. I was with him once when it happened and it was a terrifying spectacle. He also began having heart failure to the degree that his lungs would fill up with fluid and it really scared him. He was afraid he would die that way.

He was trying to get approved to go to Baylor (Texas) for alcohol ablation for the condition when he was suddenly diagnosed with an unsurvivable cancer. His doctors frequently warned him that I should also be watched for developing the same [heart] condition and he also frequently told me that Verapamil was what "saved" him; he credited it for extending his life. Perhaps. But he was at the highest doses of Verapamil for many years and I think the med might have contributed (because of the increase in acid reflux) to the esophageal cancer (andenocarcinoma from an undiagnosed Barrett's) that eventually killed him.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

That 125 mm Hg Gradient at rest is HUGE, assuming the number is correct (and not 12.5 instead...could there be a decimal point hidden in there?)

My GUESS is that having surgery Tomorrow would NOT be too soon, again assuming 125 mmHG is the correct number.

I would definitely want to confirm that gradient. If it is confirmed, he needs to see a Surgeon ASAP.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[dlangton]

Gratitude

Gratitude

Thanks so much to all you guys who responded, ALCapshaw2 and Susan BAV and catwoman, and to Adrienne who looked at the French echo report and gave me her opinion. I very much appreciate all the helpful information and thoughts you provided and will pass it along to my friend Roger later today. What a bunch of champs you people are. If anyone else would care to view the French echo report, it is here:

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~zezidud/choucroute/Resultats_Roger.pdf

but only if you're REAL interested and also speak French, since I think we've got enough information to proceed now. Thanks again...