About Me (In My Own Words)
At the age of 19 i got my pilots license. As a result I had to do an extensive physical. SHOCKER!!! That is NOT when they found my aortic valve regurgitation...
When I was 19 I also got my class 3 truck drivers license. I had to do a very minor physical for this. My regular family doctor was away at the time and a fairly new doctor was in his place and he had great ears!
He said he heard the tiniest whisper of a heart murmur but it was likely nothing. That said due to the pilots license on my file I had to be referred to a cardiologist for clearance or could be refused my pilots license.
The cardiologist referred me to VGH for an echo cardiogram...
Enter in phobia realization... I arrived 20 min early... I walked through emergency on my way to the cardiology department for my echo... The walls started to close in...
Next thing know I am being tapped on the shoulder and get asked if I am ok.. I am facing the wall and staring at a bulletin board.. No idea how that happened.. I am now 15 min late! Where did the 35 min go?
I would lose another 1.75 hours in similar hospital related incidents leading up to my admission for cardiac repair surgery!
After the echo i had an appointment with Jan Kornder my cardiologist and he patiently explained I had a Congenital heart defect called a bicuspid valve, which creates aortic valve regurgitation.
He said i had a 20% chance of needing it replaced before I died and that i should have an echo every few years to check it.
i decided at that point to just be one of the 80%!
i wish he would have told me the risk of Aortic aneurism as well maybe i could have willed that to not happen as well!
i waited 20 years to get next echo, you know 2 or 20 same thing for a typical invincible idiot male ego!!
They found my aortic artery above the valve to be at 59 mm and wooosh the process started fast on me!
Turns out a healthy aorta is 38mm and 50mm is where you are scheduled to get it fixed... 59 seems serious enough for most to be surprised I am in perfect health vs loaded with a ton of symptoms!
Seems to cause great concern when I tell them that I shoveled over two meters of snow off a very large driveway from over a month ending 3 days before the echo where they found my 59 mm aorta!
For all my friends who would never class me as normal, seems you have been more right than you know.
Moral of the story?
I could be dead! The key thing about an aortic aneurism is as it grows the walls get thinner so it is more likely to rupture if you are involved in heavy lifting or anything else that puts strain on the aorta like contact sports!
I guess the fall on my face in Australia may have counted but seems I made it through that too!
Now as I sit here typing this from my room in the CICU where I feel like I am wrapped in a warm safety blanket. Time to get on with the fix as want to be sure all that high risk behavior I didn't know I was doing has no ability to catch up to me.
To all other idiot males like myself! LISTEN TO YOUR WIFE, GIRLFRIEND OR SIGNIFICANT OTHER! Go to the doctor for a physical exam once in a while!
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Vancouver, Canada
