Angelica's Guestbook

Hi Angelica! Just checking in on you as you prepare for surgery on the 25th. Praying that all goes well with your surgery and that you have a complete and total recovery. Peace and blessings to you!

Hi Angelina, I wanted to reassure you about your upcoming operation. Yes, it seems scary on your side because you've never had this done before. But on the other side--the doctors and nurses--it's a very common procedure. This procedure has been performed thousands and thousands of times, all over the world. And the mortality rate is about 1% to 2% (usually elderly people--which you are not!). I was 70 when I had my mitral valve repaired and my aortic valve replaced in 2015. I came through it wonderfully, and now I feel better than ever. I love lying in bed at night and feeling my heart beat calmly and steadily. I love noticing that my breathing is like a baby's--from the stomach rather than from the chest. You'll have these things too. Just go into it thinking what a miracle this operation is, and you'll embrace it, even with any natural nervousness. I wish you the very best.

Hi Angelica, I read your story and wanted to reach out to you. I was told last year by a cardiologist that I had to have my mitral valve replaced as well, due to severe regurgitation. After doing a little research, I found out that there are many skilled heart surgeons now preferring to REPAIR severely leaking mitral valves instead of REPLACING the valve, but it does require a skilled heart surgeon. It is now much preferred to REPAIR mitral valves in younger people. It is a different surgery than replacement, but a successful repair does restore normal life expectancy. My valve was severely leaking, but I had it successfully repaired 11 months ago by a surgeon here in California. I wish you the best on your heart journey. Here is a video which discusses this more in detail from a surgeon from renowned Cleveland Clinic:  https://youtu.be/cDffrMVA4NU.