S.Filpansick
New member
Hi Everybody!
I've been reading this forum for a few days now, and this is my first post.
I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve and they watched it very intently when i was a child; they told my parents that surgery was a very real possibility. Once I got a little older (around 12), they said that it seemed to be pretty stable, so I didn't need to go to the cardiologist regularly anymore, just to make sure that I went to my regular doctor once a year for a general checkup, at which point my Dr. should be able to listen to my heart and make the determination of if/when I needed to start being seeing a cardio again.
I've always been a very active person; grew up working on the family farm, manual labor jobs all through junior high and high school, skateboarding, BMX, rollerblading, etc. I've never noticed my BAV holding me back, but since I've had it since birth, I wouldn't know the difference!
I'm currently 35, and once I hit 30, my Dr suggested I start seeing the cardio again; not that she heard anything new, just as a "better safe than sorry" approach. So, for the first couple of years, I went every six months, so they could establish a baseline. The cardio said nothing was changing, so I could do every 12 months instead. I did that for a couple of years and again, nothing changed.
All of the cardio visits I'd had in my 30's, the echos were done by the same tech, and I saw the same cardio.
Then my cardiologist left the practice... I really liked him, and was bummed out, so I didn't go back for 18 months. My regular Dr got on to me about it, and scheduled me an appt with a different cardio at the same practice the old one was at. This time, the echo was done by a different tech (with zero personality... he didn't even speak unless I asked him a direct question! That makes it a little awkward!), and then of course I met with the "new" cardio.
Definitely not a fan of the new cardio either... zero personality on this guy as well.
Here's how the meeting with him went: "Hi, I'm Dr. *******. That valve needs to come out, when do you want to do it? You also need to decide if you want a bio or mechanical valve. If you go bio, you'll need at least one additional surgery in your lifetime, but if you go mechanical, you'll need to be on Coumadin the rest of your life; which way would you like to go?"
Seriously? I've never met this guy before, he's been in the room for 30 seconds, just told me I need open heart surgery (which I most definitely was NOT expecting to hear), and wants an immediate answer as to what type of valve I want and when I want to do it?
I hadn't researched this at all... to be honest, I knew very little about AVR before this meeting; I knew that they used porcine or bovine valves, but I didn't even know they had mechanical valves! I knew nothing about risks, down time, recovery, restrictions, etc... I need to know what I can do about work, I'll need to see what I can line up for help with things around the house, and with my children, and all kinds of other stuff! Do they really expect people to make a decision like that on the spot? :confused2:
For the last 20+ years, every time I've gone to the cardio, he says "No change, we'll see you next time!", and now the echo is done by a different tech, which is read by a different cardio, and I need surgery. I've always known it was a real possibility, but it wasn't like "ok, things are starting to change a little, you're going to want to start thinking about valve replacement", it was "That valve needs to come out, when do you want to do it?".
Am I wrong to think that I need a second opinion?
Thanks in advance for any insight!
Steve
I've been reading this forum for a few days now, and this is my first post.
I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve and they watched it very intently when i was a child; they told my parents that surgery was a very real possibility. Once I got a little older (around 12), they said that it seemed to be pretty stable, so I didn't need to go to the cardiologist regularly anymore, just to make sure that I went to my regular doctor once a year for a general checkup, at which point my Dr. should be able to listen to my heart and make the determination of if/when I needed to start being seeing a cardio again.
I've always been a very active person; grew up working on the family farm, manual labor jobs all through junior high and high school, skateboarding, BMX, rollerblading, etc. I've never noticed my BAV holding me back, but since I've had it since birth, I wouldn't know the difference!
I'm currently 35, and once I hit 30, my Dr suggested I start seeing the cardio again; not that she heard anything new, just as a "better safe than sorry" approach. So, for the first couple of years, I went every six months, so they could establish a baseline. The cardio said nothing was changing, so I could do every 12 months instead. I did that for a couple of years and again, nothing changed.
All of the cardio visits I'd had in my 30's, the echos were done by the same tech, and I saw the same cardio.
Then my cardiologist left the practice... I really liked him, and was bummed out, so I didn't go back for 18 months. My regular Dr got on to me about it, and scheduled me an appt with a different cardio at the same practice the old one was at. This time, the echo was done by a different tech (with zero personality... he didn't even speak unless I asked him a direct question! That makes it a little awkward!), and then of course I met with the "new" cardio.
Definitely not a fan of the new cardio either... zero personality on this guy as well.
Here's how the meeting with him went: "Hi, I'm Dr. *******. That valve needs to come out, when do you want to do it? You also need to decide if you want a bio or mechanical valve. If you go bio, you'll need at least one additional surgery in your lifetime, but if you go mechanical, you'll need to be on Coumadin the rest of your life; which way would you like to go?"
Seriously? I've never met this guy before, he's been in the room for 30 seconds, just told me I need open heart surgery (which I most definitely was NOT expecting to hear), and wants an immediate answer as to what type of valve I want and when I want to do it?
I hadn't researched this at all... to be honest, I knew very little about AVR before this meeting; I knew that they used porcine or bovine valves, but I didn't even know they had mechanical valves! I knew nothing about risks, down time, recovery, restrictions, etc... I need to know what I can do about work, I'll need to see what I can line up for help with things around the house, and with my children, and all kinds of other stuff! Do they really expect people to make a decision like that on the spot? :confused2:
For the last 20+ years, every time I've gone to the cardio, he says "No change, we'll see you next time!", and now the echo is done by a different tech, which is read by a different cardio, and I need surgery. I've always known it was a real possibility, but it wasn't like "ok, things are starting to change a little, you're going to want to start thinking about valve replacement", it was "That valve needs to come out, when do you want to do it?".
Am I wrong to think that I need a second opinion?
Thanks in advance for any insight!
Steve
