Pam's Profile

My name is Pam I am a mother of three adult children and I am from Boise Idaho. I was diagnosed there years ago during an annual exam. The PA was listening to my heart and said "oh you have a murmur" to which I replied"no I don't" and she said "um yes you do". So off to my primary care doctor with a referral to a cardiologist. After my echo he told me that I was born with a bicuspid aortic vale that was moderately stenotic and would eventually need surgery. I am hoping my options are less invasive the longer I wait. I am extremely active and physically fit and this has all been very unsettling. I am 52(almost 53) years old and have always been in perfect health the thought of a possible heart surgery is very frightening. My valve is now at the severe stage but I am still asymptomatic. My Aorta has also gotten a little larger during all this 4.2cm so that is another stressor. I still do crossfit 3-4 times a week and mountain bike or run on my off days. I would be lying if I said I never worried about my heart during really hard workouts. My goal is to workout hard up until my surgery and have a quick recovery. Reading everyone's success stories has been a real encouragement and has helped alleviate some of my fear. I have a meeting with the Valve clinic at the end of the month to start talking about a plan, I am pretty sure I want to go some place other than Boise for my surgery. Any advice would be welcome.