About Me (In My Own Words)
I was on here originally when I had my first surgery to replace my bicuspid aortic valve and replace the aortic aneurism in February 2015. Dr. Alan Spear did that surgery and the hear valve was a Trifecta tissue valve. I have still been following all the newsletters for the last 7 years and never thought about updating my story. I am rejoining since it looks like my original account expired somewhere and I am now looking at a redo on the original valve. Everything had been great over the last several years and was pretty much back to a full normal lifestyle, in fact in some ways a lot more active. Back in October I was on a charity bike ride (I am a ride marshal for these rides). My plan was to ride the 60 mile loop but in the first 2 miles I found myself not able to catch my breath and after a 30 minute stop at the first break stop I decided to limp back on the 40 mile route. I kind of ignored it but noticed workouts were harder and stairs became a challenge. My annual follow up with my cardiologist had an echocardiogram which showed the problem, severe aortic regurgitation. These last two weeks have been more tests including a TEE and heart cath but confirmed that the valve has failed and needs to be replaced. Technology has advanced in the past 7 years so this will be a TAVR and no open heart. Surgery is scheduled for April 7th. The docs are moving pretty fast to get this done. I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it. They tell me only a day in the hospital and probably back to normal in a couple of weeks.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Broad Run, VA
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My surgery date is:
April 7, 2022
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Bicuspid Aortic Valve
Aortic Aneurysm
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Aortic Valve Repair
Aortic Aneurysm Replacement
Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement
