About Me (In My Own Words)
My name is Cristy, I am 54 years old and in April of 2026, I was diagnosed with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) with severe regurgitation. I will require an aortic valve replacement in the future, and here is my story.
I had always had heart tests come back a little abnormal, but it wasn’t until my dive doctor (I’m a scuba diver) said, “You have too many weird things - I’m not clearing you until you get this checked out,” that I was motivated to return to my cardiologist for more answers.
My diagnosis of my BAV started in 2024, when I had surgery to repair a torn ACL. I ended up getting a pulmonary embolism as a result of the surgery, which landed me in the hospital and resulted in having almost every part of my body scanned. An echocardiogram came back as a probable BAV. I saw a cardiologist, who was not too concerned, probably because I had preserved heart function (LVEF of 60%.) He said to return in a year.
A year later, I had just broken up with someone and had decided to change jobs when I got the crazy idea to do a monthlong dive master internship in Honduras (can we say “midlife crisis”)? It required medical clearance, so off to the dive doctor I went, Dr. Tufts in Walnut Creek, CA, with all my cardiac test results in hand. I had previously seen Dr. Tuffts for clearance after my pulmonary embolism, and I liked his conservative, yet practical approach to getting me back in the water.
I was surprised when this time he said that because of the results of my latest echocardiogram, he could not clear me for the extensive diving that the internship would require. He also noted that my oxygen levels dropped more than he would expect during a brisk walk around the office - which surprised me, because I walk and hike regularly. He suggested that I go for a repeat echocardiogram with bubble study to rule out a PFO.
While I waited three months for an echocardiogram (my mid-life crisis trip shelved), I did a few dives in Monterey. Shore diving in Monterey is pretty exhausting to begin with, as you’re lugging about 60 pounds of equipment up and down the beach. But I had a strange incident where I became very fatigued at the start of a dive and had to be assisted out of the water. Basically, I washed up on the beach like a dead fish.
Shortly after this incident I had my echocardiogram, which showed moderate regurgitation and LVEF of 51% (and no PFO). My cardiologist recommended a cardiac MRI, the gold standard test, to confirm the severity of the regurgitation and my heart function. In the meantime he put me on metoprolol and had me start checking my blood pressure daily. He also told me he did not want me diving in case I were to lose consciousness underwater. Luckily this was December and I didn’t have a dive trip planned until June.
After another three month wait, I had my MRI. As I was waiting for the results to appear in my patient portal, I received a call from my cardiologist’s office that he had a cancellation that day and he wanted to go over my results. A few hours later, he gave me my diagnosis of BAV with severe regurgitation and that I would require aortic valve replacement, which is open heart surgery. He said that my AR was already severe, but because I was still considered asymptomatic, they would monitor me every six months with repeat echocardiograms. He said one of two things would signal it was time for surgery, either I would start having symptoms, or my LVEF would fall below 50% (it is currently at 51%.) He told me that I was lucky we had caught it when I was still (relatively) young. He wanted me to continue exercising and to let him know if I developed any symptoms, and to continue monitoring my blood pressure. He said, “We’re in this together,” and that I could message him anytime with questions.
I went into research mode and messaged him immediately with my first question. Will this be a mechanical valve or biological? He replied that there was a procedure where they could take my pulmonary valve and make it my aortic valve, and that we would discuss all my options at my next appointment. I learned that this was called the Ross Procedure and that is when I found heartvalvesurgery.com. I am excited about this as an option, as it would allow me to go back to diving because it doesn’t require blood thinners.
When I initially got my diagnosis, I felt like my life was on hold. I wanted all the answers right now. I wanted to know, when will my surgery be? What kind of procedure? Will I ever dive again? Now I am focusing on what I can control, which is to continue living my life and staying fit. When the time comes, I’ll have the surgery and I want to be as healthy as I can be going into it. I hope I can dive again someday, but if not, I feel lucky I will have a healthy heart for all the other adventures life has to offer.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Pleasanton
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Ross Procedure
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My surgeon is:
Dr. David Tehrani
