About Me (In My Own Words)
In 2009 I was diagnosed with having bicuspid aortic stenosis. I was getting a physical and my family doctor, Dr. Robert Gage of Deforest, WI noticed that I had a rather pronounced heart murmur. I told him that I had heard that from doctors before.
I recounted the story back in 1997, when I was working on an assignment in Des Moines, IA, I had pulled a muscle in my chest by arching my back. The ladies in the office were concerned that I was having “chest pains” and should see a doctor immediately. Not wanting to be rude I agreed and made an appointment to see a local doctor.
When I arrived at the clinic, I saw the doctor emerge from the back room, buttoning his shirt. There was a female assistant coming out of the back room as well. They were chuckling over something as they both approached the front and I started to have misgivings about the kind of clinic I just walked into. But, before I my imagination got too carried away I learned that she was practicing giving chest x-rays on the doctor.
In addition to being put off by the lack of decorum I noticed there were no other patients in the clinic. He was clearly not a very busy doctor, which is not a good sign. But he did get me right in with no waiting and proceeded to examine me. I suggested that I had just pulled a muscle and he thought I was probably right. But he wanted to make sure. So he listened to my heart and told me he could hear a heart murmur. After explaining what a heart murmur was he decided it would be a good idea to conduct another test. So, pulled up a portable EKG machine, stuck some leads to my chest and had me lie still while the machine did its thing.
The machine rattled and pinged for a few minutes them spit out a piece of paper with writing on it. I was reminded of early episodes of Star Trek when the ship computer would spit out readings of the planet they were orbiting. The doctor examined the piece of paper, and with a rather surprised, high pitched voice, exclaimed that I at some point in my life I had suffered a heart attack. Or, at least that was what the machine thought.
I must have looked pretty surprised, and perhaps a little skeptical, because he quickly added that the machine is often wrong but that I should see a cardiologist just to make sure everything was OK. Needless to say I was pretty freaked out by this since I knew I had only just pulled a muscle and agreed to be examined just to keep my client calm. I called my family to let them know what was going on and they were, of course, very concerned too. I was scheduled to see the local cardiologist the next day.
This visit was more promising. I went to a local hospital and was escorted back to the examination room were a technician examined me with an ultrasound machine. Despite having the cold goopy gel spread across my chest I was relieved that I was at least getting some proper care. Not too long after this examination the Cardiologist came in and greeted me with big smiles. He confirmed that the rattling ping machine at the other doctor’s office was wrong, I had not suffered a heart attack, and, in fact, my heart was very strong and steady.
When I asked him about the murmur he said that, yes, I had one but that it was due to it beating so strongly and loudly in my chest that it caused an echo. I had, in his opinion, the kind of murmur that some teenage athletes get when they are really fit. I was very relieved by this news and was happy to tell my family that they could stop worrying. I guess I ignored the fact that, a) I was thirty years old, not a teenager, and b) I was in no way an athlete. I would not have been able to run a mile at that time.
So when Dr. Gage told me I had a heart murmur it was with some pleasure that I told him about my super strong athletic heart. He wasn’t impressed. I was, once again, scheduled to see a cardiologist the next day. This time, rather than an ultrasound, I was given an echocardiogram. The technician was polite and friendly but was tight-lipped about what she was hearing. All she said is that the doctor would evaluate the readings.
I got a call the next day from Dr Gage. He had spoken to Dr. Kaji, a cardiologist from Madison, WI and had bad news for me. Then he told me I had bicuspid aortic stenosis, explained what it was, and what it meant, namely that I would have to get it replaced.
After a couple of meetings with the cardiologist and a couple more echocardiograms, and very close attention to my symptoms, the time has come to being looking into having the surgery. Dr Kaji explained that I will need to have this done twice in my lifetime, the next time when I am in my sixties, since the mechanical valves only last 25 years. He did say that if I could hold out another five years they may be able to put in a different kind of valve the next time, when I am in my seventies.
The process starts when I meet with a surgeon to decide whether now is the right time.
Keep ticking!
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Madison, Wisconsin