About Me (In My Own Words)
I was diagnosed with a bicuspid aortic valve with moderate regurgitation in 2007 while visiting my grandmother in Mississippi. The cardiologist put me on metoprolol and said I should be okay, maybe a surgery in 20 years or so. I lived in France at the time and only about 6 months later had an episode of TIA's. Ended up in ICU there where they did an echocardiogram and said I had severe regurgitation and needed a valve replacement asap. They assumed something must have changed since my visit with the cardiologist in MS, but I had the CD of it and they said it looked exactly the same and couldn't believe the doctor labeled it as moderate. The doctors in France said I needed a mechanical valve because I was so young (well, 39 at the time) and it would last forever. I did my research and after already being started on Coumadin I knew I didn't want to be on it for the rest of my life - at least not yet. Although I felt I had great docs in France, even my cardiologist there agreed with me when I brought up Cleveland Clinic - stating if you can get there, go. I did nothing for about 2 weeks but study different CV clinics and read about different surgeons. I ended up emailing Dr Gosta Pettersson at CC and he immediately emailed back and said he'd be happy to take my case. I sent all my records and the million tests, echoes, and scans they did on me in France. After reviewing everything I believe he actually called, may have been the secretary who I was always in touch with - anyway the news to me was, for some reason, devastating- he said I needed surgery within the next 3 months. I think I kept convincing myself I was fine because I felt relatively fine, I had 2 small children at the time, worked in the fitness industry until I was about 30 years old and became a nurse - but I was still very active and have always made nutrition a priority.....How could any of this be happening when health and fitness have been such a huge part of my life?? I cried, got over it, and started preparing for my surgery. I ended up moving to my home state of Louisiana and got the kids set up in school and had the surgery in Cleveland on Feb 9, 2009. Everything went well - Cleveland Clinic and Dr Pettersson were absolutely incredible. He was able to repair my valveI which was in pretty bad shape from what I was told and in reading the notes. My theory and the cardiologist said it's possible- I wore the valve out much earlier than most BAV people because of some very extreme exercise habits since about the age of 17. I did have some complications exactly 1 month post-op - Post pericardiotomy syndrome - it was way more painful than immediate heart surgery recovery!! I spent one of the most painful nights of my life in a hospital in New Orleans.
Since then I've been great and I was really good for the first few years about echoes and checking in with my cardiologist. I gave up any type of weight training and made my peace with just moderate cardio workouts. I recently started running more and decided I wanted to maybe do a marathon, but knew I was past due on my echo, so called to schedule one. I was shocked and in disbelief when they told me it had been 3 years since my last echo. I had been so busy with life and other problems that I completely let something so important slide - I felt like an idiot. I had my echo about 2 months ago May 2016 and got the results back about a week later. The doctors office called to let me know the doctors note said "Okay for now, but watch closely" I asked her for more details, but she said my doctor (I now live in New Orleans) was out of town and my appointment wasn't until late July. I went and picked up a copy of the radiology report and saw that it stated "mild stenosis of the aortic valve" Nooooooo! I was crushed - again thinking "How could this be? I've never felt better!" I am still waiting to talk to my cardiologist when I have my appr on 7/26/2016. I will also get in touch with Dr Pettersson at CC. The dimensions of my aortic valve are actually "moderate stenosis" according to a chart on the CC, but I wonder if the size of the person is taken into consideration? I checked my old echoes after the surgery and noticed that they all had a dimension that would fall under mild stenosis according to this chart. I've been reading about aortic stenosis and it seems there is no way to tell how fast the progression will go. Definitely will go back to CC when/ if more surgery is needed.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
New Orleans
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My surgery date is:
February 3, 2009
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I was diagnosed with:
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Repair
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My hospital is:
Cleveland Clinic
