About Me (In My Own Words)
I found out I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve in March, 2000. During an annual physical my PCP heard a very slight murmur and I got it checked out. I had zero symptoms at the time, no chest pain, shortness of breath...nothing. Since the initial diagnosis I had an echo every two years to monitor. Fast forward to April, 2020 the results of the biennial showed the first signs of the aortic valve getting worse. Again I did not have symptoms at this time but the echos were now an annual event. Fast forward to April, 2021 my echo showed no change from the 2020 echo however I began having what I thought were symptoms of stress. chest discomfort, felt like anxiety attacks along with these same symptoms during fast paced walks. I described this to my cardiologist and he sent me for a CT Angiogram and they found a 100% blocked right coronary artery, and an 80% blockage of a branch of my left anterior descending artery. Went in for a cardiac cath to stent the 100% and they could not get the stent in. The artery was too blocked. Interestingly, they said that artery had been blocked for a LONG time. I had no idea. I was active during these years: masters swimmer, golf (walking, not riding)
tennis..etc. No symptoms during these activities. So, on June 27 I will be having the bypass surgery as well as an aortic valve replacement to fix what is described as moderate stenosis while they are in there. I feel good (at least I think I feel good) other than the shortness of breath during my fast walks. I may notice a huge difference after this is done. This has been going on for a long time and any decline in my overall health has not been noticeable to me.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Indianapolis
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My surgery date is:
June 27, 2022
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I was diagnosed with:
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
Coronary Artery Disease
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Giorgio Zanotti
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My hospital is:
St Vincent Heart Center
