Kalay's Guestbook

Definitely a scary diagnosis Kalay, but if you're like many of us, I think it's at least partly because it comes as a surprise. For me it was a heart murmur at an annual physical that led to the diagnosis of BAV, which I had never even heard of before, much less had symptoms. Then 2 years later I had my valve replacement, but I know many people go a lot longer than that after diagnosis before needing surgery. In terms of dealing with the fear, I like to think of the following: 1) It can be diagnosed, monitored and fixed. 2) It is relatively common and cardiac surgeons do these surgeries all the time. 3) Complication rates of the surgery are low. 4) Life should return pretty much to normal after recovery from surgery. I'm just over 2 months post-surgery now and have been back at work for a few weeks and I feel better every week. I wouldn't say I'm quite back to normal yet, but it's getting there and I'm living my life pretty much as I did before. It's just another challenge to overcome, so try not to let it get you down. Best of luck with everything and use this message board for information and support!