Rena's Profile

At the young age of 18, I rushed off to California to get married. About 6 weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. About half way through my pregnancy, I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse with a mild regurge. This was 16 years ago. During these last 16 years, my regurge has progressed to moderate severe and I have recently learned that my left atrium is mildly to moderately enlarged. My cardiologist is now suggesting that I move towards a mitral valve repair rather than waiting for a replacement. I am filled with many emotions and find that I have never truly understood my valve disorder. I have many questions and will be starting on Monday with another visit to my cardiologist. At this point in my life, I am a single mother of two teenage children and I wasn't prepared to think about heart surgery yet.