About Me (In My Own Words)
I was born with a congenital heart defect. I inherited it from my daddy. I had my first echo at 6 wks old. I went to the cardiologist twice a year. As I got older, my mitral valve begin to leak more. My freshman year in college, I started feeling so fatigue, always out of breath, heart palpataions, weak and dizzy. NO ENERGY! I started seeing a cardiologist in the Congestive Heart Failure Dept at University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). I had a heart Cath and was diagnosed with CHF, severe aortic stenosis and regurtation, biscupid valve in 2000. My ejection fraction was so low. I was on 30 meds. I was in the fight for my life. I worked at a patient care tech in the open heart recovery unit. I was at work and started having severe pain between my shoulder blades and just didn't feel right. I went to the ER. My heart rate was running 190-220 bpm. And my blood pressure was critically low. I remember thinking "I'm dying" and the next thing I know my heart stopped. I had a ct scan and it showed that I had an aortic thoracic aneurysm. I ended up having an aortic valve replacement with an pig valve and aortic thoracic aneurysm repair. I did really well and came home in 3 days. My heart is still beating strong. My cardiologist said the pig valve should last 15 years and have to another aortic valve replacement. I chose the pig valve bc I was 25 single no kids. I didn't want to take blood thinner for the rest of my life and still a chance I could have kids. I only take a baby aspirin and metoporol. I pray that my aortic valve continues to work so prolong another aortic valve replacement.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Alabama
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My surgery date is:
August 5, 2004
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Aortic Stenosis
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
Mitral Regurgitation
Mitral Stenosis
Tricuspid Regurgitation
Tricuspid Stenosis
Aortic Aneurysm
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Aortic Valve Repair
Aortic Aneurysm Replacement
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My surgeon is:
Dr. John Richardson
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My hospital is:
St. Vincents Hospital
