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Guest
Hi, my name is Alex and I'm 23 years old. Two weeks ago I had a physical, the first one in a long whole. My doctor checked my heartbeat and said I had a heart murmur. He said it was probably nothing, that maybe because I was a thin guy he might just be hearing my heartbeat at a louder level. He said he wanted to send me to a cardiologist just to rule out anything serious. I went to the cardiologist and had an echocardiogram done. The next day I got a call from my Dr. and he stated the cardiologist was concerned, that one of my valves was not functioning properly. I immediately was scared. I went online and spent a whole lot of time looking up things like "heart valve not functioning properly" and read a lot of articles saying that a lot require surgery. I was prepared to hear this, knowing you can't really change the structure of the heart with a pill, that someone would have to go in there and fix it. The next day I met with the cardiologist and he told me I had a bicuspid aortic valve, and that one of my valves was leaky. He had stated it would not be able to be repaired, but replaced. And this, of course, required surgery. The two options he gave me obviously were a tissue valve or mechanical. I learned that the tissue valves only last 10-15 years and since I'm young, there's no doubt it'll have to be replaced in the future. And that the surgery required to do so when you've already had a valve repaired is quite risky. The mechanical one can last a lifetime but I would have to be on blood thinners for the rest of my life, but still, this would be the best option. He stated he wants me to have surgery within a month. I was shaking with fear when he was telling me all of this. Thinking why me? Open heart surgery is THE LAST THING I ever thought I'd have to deal with. It's been a little over a week and I am happy to say that I've done LOADS of research on the mechanical valve, and that it is a pretty routine procedure, as well as research on what to expect before, during, and after surgery. I've also done tons of research on blood thinners, the consistency with Vitamin K, as well as watching out for foods that contain a lot of Vitamin E (which thins your blood.) I am, for some weird a** reason, actually looking forward to the surgery. I'm calm, ready for it, knowing what is coming, and how to take care of it, and glad they caught it before it was too late. I live with family that will support me through this journey, and am blessed to have access to so many good surgeons. My cardiologist referred me to see Dr. Shemin at Ronald Reagan UCLA. He was the president of the American heart association and is the chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at UCLA and has done plenty of surgeries with valve replacement and tons of research on the mechanical heart valve. I have an appointment to see Dr.Shemin in 3 days and am really looking forward to it. That morning I have an appointment to get a CT scan, since I have a bicuspid aortic valve and they want to make sure nothing else needs to be done to my heart at the time of surgery. My mother has talked to plenty of her Dr friends and they have given her names of good cardiovascular surgeons. My mother thinks it'd be a good idea to seek a second opinion, not on the procedure, since I know i have to have it done, but to see if I like any of the other surgeons. And I agree. I'm glad to have discovered this forum to read up on many peoples stories before and after surgery. Sorry for the long post lol
