About Me (In My Own Words)
In 1998 I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma with standard treatment of radiation and chemo. A known side effect of this treatment regimen is cardiac issues so I was conscientious in following up with a cardiologist. A 2003 echo cardiogram showed that I had mild to moderate mitral valve regurgitation and year after year I would get tested to see if there were changes. I had been at moderate to severe for close to 3 years and asymptomatic. This year I knew something didn't feel right but I explained the occasional dizziness to stress, the shortness of breath to being out of shape and the cough to a nagging upper respiratory infections. During this year's echo my heart rate was off the charts and the technician kept asking me if I had atrial fibrillation and high blood pressure. I was scheduled for an appt to review the results with the dr two weeks afterward but his nurse called me within days to find out how I'd been feeling. My shortness of breath, crackling in my lungs and significantly decreased ejection fraction pointed me towards congestive heart failure which stopped me in my tracks. This was serious...surgery was my path forward and I spent several weeks going through additional testing (TEE and cardiac CT and the round of surgical appts began. Three total and I'm so glad that they were all in agreement in what I needed to have done. Two of the three didn't feel my mitral valve could be repaired and would require replacement but Dr Adams began the conversation with mitral repair and explained that despite the thickening caused by radiation he felt strongly he could successfully repair the mitral valve and would repair the tricuspid valve at the same time. I felt a strong connection to Dr Adams and his associate Dr Boateng and scheduled my surgery for their earliest availability.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me