About Me (In My Own Words)
I started running over 3.5 years ago. A month after having covid for the first time, my doctor accidentally discovered a heart murmur a month later in November 2022. Echocardiogram was ordered, and she said I had a minor valve problem that might need repair in the distant future, like, in decades.
In early 2023, I was still running, walking, or lifting weights 6-7 days per week, but it seemed to be getting harder, not easier, despite my efforts. I turned 49, had gained a little weight, and attributed this to age, perimenopause, and possibly covid. By May 2023, and throughout last summer, I continued to get slower and was unable to run for as long and far, but blamed a couple minor foot injuries. Sometimes my sports bras felt too tight, and general anxiety kept me from sleeping well. I kept at my usual fitness routine. I went from easily being able to run for an hour to barely being able to run for 30 minutes straight. In late December 2023, I had already resorted to running intervals most of the time when I got covid again. I recovered, and continued with my fitness schedule, but took awhile to get back at it, hurt my foot, and once recovered was tired all the time. I felt like I could never get a deep enough breath when running. As time went on, I failed to notice how tiring household activities were becoming after running. My sleep quality and overal energy levels continued to decline. In July of 2024, I had my routine physical. Upon hearing of my running frustrations, my doctor decided to repeat the echo now instead of waiting until November, as planned, which would have been a 2 year follow up. On July 16, 2024 my doctor's nurse called to tell me I've got severe aortic stenosis and should see an interventional cardiologist, Dr. Hassam Suradi, at his first available appointment. She told me to also cease all strenuous exercise and activities. I was completely shocked, scared, and overwhelmed with this news. I'd never seen a cardiologist before in my life. My appointment was 7/31/24. Prior to that, through a friend, another cardiologist reviewed my echo reports and told me that I'd need open heart surgery and am too young for a TAVR's short outcome. On 7/31, Dr. Suradi confirmed my need for open heart surgery, said my stenosis is quite severe, and quickly scheduled me for a chest CT and a radial coronary angiogram, which I had 2 days ago, on 8/2/24. I met my surgeon, Dr. David Stern, that day at the hospital. He hadn't seen my echo pictures yet, but said we'd set up an appointment to go over everything, probably this week, and schedule surgery from there, probably a week or so after that, he said.
All in all, I'm overwhelmed and anxious. I am 49 years old, we have 7 kids, and 4 are still at home. The youngest 3 are still in school, ages 7, 11, and 15, and school starts in less than 2 weeks, and I've had less than 3 weeks to even consider all of this since my first real diagnosis on 7/16/24.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Crete
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Aortic Stenosis
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
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My surgeon is:
Dr. David Stern
