About Me (In My Own Words)
I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and severe regurgitation in 1996 when I was 41 years old and had my first surgery shortly thereafter. My mitral valve was repaired. They also repaired/replaced chordae that had stretched and or failed. In 1999 I had to have surgery again as a new leak developed around the annulus ring they put in during the first surgery. Both were open heart on the bypass machine. I had atrial fibulation before my first surgery that was undiagnosed until after the second surgery, in fact I was in the hospital recovering from the surgery when I had an episode and since I was on a monitor they were able to see it and diagnose it. I can\\\'t tell you how many halter monitors I wore over the years that never did catch the Afib in the act... Had they known before the surgery they may have been able to do something about it. I still have atrial fibulation to this day and take medication daily to control it. I don\'t take a blood thinner since my Afib is prone to short episodes and is not chronic. I still see my cardiologist regularly and have echocardigrams and nuclear tests done periodically. My last echo was about a year ago and my doctor told me at that time that my mitral valve is leaking a little bit and my heart has enlarged a tiny bit also. But not statistically so... I guess that was supposed to make me feel better:-) I see him every 6 months now but have no symptoms so life is pretty good. So 14 years after my first repair and I\\\'m still tickin\\\' Just a note about the doctor who performed my second surgery. He is fantastic! Dr. Vincent Gaudiani at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, CA. My experience there and with Dr. Gaudiani were excellent. It was Sooooo... much better than the first time(with a different doctor and hospital). I can tell you from experience, the doctor and facility make a HUGE difference...
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
-
I am from:
Castro Valley, California
