D
Diana
Hi,
I am new to this site but I have been scanning it for a few weeks now and can I just say what a blessing it is to have you all here and have the link to people, just like my husband and I, here for us. I have noticed the number of you who have been here for quite a while after your surgeries and you touch my heart that you continue to be here to take the time to help people like us.
I have a few questions, as I am new to this disease. My husband was diagnosed at the age of 12 with a bicuspid aortic valve with calcification. He was followed up with when he was 13 and after that was lost to follow-up. Over the past year to year and a half we have noticed more and more fatigue and shortness of breath. The shortness of breath has been very bothersome with his job. He finally came home one day and said enough was enough it was time to see a doctor. We went to a family doctor here in town, very small town, who sent us to the local hospital for an echo which came back reporting a slightly enlarged ascending aorta, could not rule out a bicuspid valve, a gradient of 36 mmHg, and a valve measuring 1.6, which is mild aortic stenosis. It also said clinically suspect worsening heart failure or heart murmur.
A family member of mine is a retired cardiothoracic surgeon who referred us to a cardiologist to see, which we saw today. He told us that at his current age of 25, and his gradient of 36 mmHg, and his blood pressure which was 138/94, he would probably not need surgery until he was in his 50?s and that his symptoms did not match his numbers and there was no point in fixing something that was not completely worn out yet, so he put him on Lopressor to "calm his heart down". He also said, which we completely agreed, that he did not have complete faith in the echo that we had at our home hospital here, some numbers were missing off the report, so he wanted to do a free of charge echo done by his own people, which is where my questions come in. We did get another echo and that tech said that ?in her opinion? he was not bicuspid, that he did have a leak and a lot of calcinosis but he had three working cusps. So I guess my question is what does that mean, have you heard of this? I cannot find any information on a calcified aortic valve at his age, except with lupus, which he does not have, and with the exception of a bicuspid valve. I know that she is only a tech and may possibly be wrong and we will find out our doctors opinion on the matter but by the way he talked today, we will not talk to him again for a few months, after my husband undergoes a CT scan of the aorta to inspect the reported "enlarged ascending aorta", but that will not be for two months or so and I just wanted to know if any of you have any incite for us to put our mind at ease, after all, knowledge is power and I live by that.
I am new to this site but I have been scanning it for a few weeks now and can I just say what a blessing it is to have you all here and have the link to people, just like my husband and I, here for us. I have noticed the number of you who have been here for quite a while after your surgeries and you touch my heart that you continue to be here to take the time to help people like us.
I have a few questions, as I am new to this disease. My husband was diagnosed at the age of 12 with a bicuspid aortic valve with calcification. He was followed up with when he was 13 and after that was lost to follow-up. Over the past year to year and a half we have noticed more and more fatigue and shortness of breath. The shortness of breath has been very bothersome with his job. He finally came home one day and said enough was enough it was time to see a doctor. We went to a family doctor here in town, very small town, who sent us to the local hospital for an echo which came back reporting a slightly enlarged ascending aorta, could not rule out a bicuspid valve, a gradient of 36 mmHg, and a valve measuring 1.6, which is mild aortic stenosis. It also said clinically suspect worsening heart failure or heart murmur.
A family member of mine is a retired cardiothoracic surgeon who referred us to a cardiologist to see, which we saw today. He told us that at his current age of 25, and his gradient of 36 mmHg, and his blood pressure which was 138/94, he would probably not need surgery until he was in his 50?s and that his symptoms did not match his numbers and there was no point in fixing something that was not completely worn out yet, so he put him on Lopressor to "calm his heart down". He also said, which we completely agreed, that he did not have complete faith in the echo that we had at our home hospital here, some numbers were missing off the report, so he wanted to do a free of charge echo done by his own people, which is where my questions come in. We did get another echo and that tech said that ?in her opinion? he was not bicuspid, that he did have a leak and a lot of calcinosis but he had three working cusps. So I guess my question is what does that mean, have you heard of this? I cannot find any information on a calcified aortic valve at his age, except with lupus, which he does not have, and with the exception of a bicuspid valve. I know that she is only a tech and may possibly be wrong and we will find out our doctors opinion on the matter but by the way he talked today, we will not talk to him again for a few months, after my husband undergoes a CT scan of the aorta to inspect the reported "enlarged ascending aorta", but that will not be for two months or so and I just wanted to know if any of you have any incite for us to put our mind at ease, after all, knowledge is power and I live by that.
