{"id":24441,"date":"2018-04-05T08:32:08","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T13:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/?p=24441"},"modified":"2019-02-26T18:30:41","modified_gmt":"2019-02-26T23:30:41","slug":"mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2018\/04\/05\/mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart Surgery Patients Unite By A Mexican Pool!"},"content":{"rendered":"

An unexpected gift just occurred in my life.<\/p>\n

While on Spring Break with my family in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, I had the extraordinary pleasure of meeting… \u00a0Not one… \u00a0Not two… But, three heart valve patients. \u00a0Here’s what happened:<\/p>\n

First, I met Mike from New Jersey. \u00a0Mike is a heart valve replacement patient who suffered from aortic stenosis. \u00a0Like so many patients in our community, Mike was mis-diagnosed<\/a> several times. \u00a0It wasn’t until he was severely symptomatic and the valve was almost completely closed that Mike got help.<\/p>\n

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Mike said to me, “I was in bad shape. \u00a0I was coughing all the time and tired. \u00a0I had this very rare infection in which a vegetation was growing on the valve. \u00a0The vegetation caused my valve to close up. \u00a0No one could figure it out — and, I have two cardiologists as neighbors. \u00a0That growth could have caused a massive heart attack. \u00a0Or, it could have brook loose and caused a stroke.”<\/p>\n

As you can see in the picture below, Mike had a bicuspid aortic valve that had a severe infection which caused a vegetation to grow and narrow the valve. Yikes!<\/p>\n

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The good news is that Mike is doing great now. \u00a0Nearly two years after his procedure, Mike is running his construction company and feeling healthy. \u00a0“I feel incredible,” Mike said. \u00a0Mike had his procedure performed by Dr. Nixon at St. Mary’s Hospital in Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

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Russell, a Mitral Valve Patient, from California<\/h2>\n

After meeting Mike, I bumped into Russell… In the pool. \u00a0No joke!<\/p>\n

Like Mike, Russell was… mis-diagnosed. \u00a0“When I was in the Marines, they told me I had a murmur. \u00a0But, that’s it,” Russell shared with me. “It wasn’t until I had severe chest pain one day that I knew something was wrong. \u00a0After several tests, including a TEE, my doctors finally figured it out. \u00a0That was a scary time for me and my family. \u00a0Honestly, I almost didn’t go through with the operation I was so scared. \u00a0But, I knew it was the right thing to do to avoid a dilated left ventricle and, ultimately, heart failure.”<\/p>\n

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Russell had an open-heart, mitral valve repair eight months ago for mitral regurgitation due to ruptured chordae at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center<\/a> in Los Angeles. The procedure was performed by Dr. Faradad Esmailian.<\/p>\n

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Isidro, a Double Valve Patient, from Mexico<\/h2>\n

Then, there was my chance encounter with Isidro.<\/p>\n

Unlike Mike and Russell, Isidro works at the hotel that we were staying at. \u00a0And, unlike Mike and Russell, Isidro had not one… But, two valve replacements. \u00a0That’s right. \u00a0Isidro had aortic valve issues since he was a child. \u00a0Isidro had one procedure in the United States when he was a small boy and the other in Mexico. \u00a0Isidro has a mechanical valve.<\/p>\n

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Thanks To Mike, Russell and Isidro!<\/h2>\n

I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed meeting Mike, Russell and Isidro during my vacation. \u00a0It was as if we were old friends – sharing our stories, relating to one another, and learning about our unique journeys to healthy hearts.<\/p>\n

Keep on tickin!
\nAdam<\/p>\n

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