About Me (In My Own Words)
I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve 73 years ago. This condition first showed up as a murmur about 20 years ago but was only pinned down to a bicuspid aortic valve about 10 years ago. As the regurgitation and stenosis became worse, replacement options were explored. During a cath procedure it was determined that the electrical system in my heart was also shot, so a pacemaker was installed. A CT scan later showed that a correctly sized replacement valve would be too large for a TAVR procedure, so open heart surgery was scheduled and performed (I was lucky enough that I didn't have to wait long).
The day after surgery they made me get out of bed and walk and walking has been part of my rehab ever since (it has been about 3 1/2 months since surgery). It took me a few weeks to build up to 2 miles a day and I have walked 2 miles a day every day since then. I did 17 sessions of cardiac rehab and have since switched over to going to my own gym 4x a week where I do 35 minutes of cardio and about 1.5 hours of strength training per session. I had stopped going to the gym when Covid hit and have now been back to the gym about 25x and am well on my way to regaining my strength. Because of my bicuspid valve I was never able to any distance running, so am now planning to run a 5K race this year. Training is slow but steady.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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My surgery date is:
September 27, 2022
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Aortic Stenosis
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
Atrial Fibrillation
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Pacemaker Implant
