About Me (In My Own Words)
I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse with mild-moderate regurgitation in March 2015. My PCP had heard a very slight murmur at my annual physical and I was referred to cardiology and had an echocardiogram and an EKG. I had follow up echos at 6 months and 1 year that showed no significant changes. At that point I was told to be on the "5 year plan" - that is, have another echo in 5 years unless things get worse.
Every doctor visit I had after that continued to note that I had a barely audible late-systolic murmur. So all was well...until 2020 (of course).
By late 2020 I had switched providers and medical practices since I had moved to a new town. I was due for my 5 year follow up echo so I scheduled one through my new PCP. I went to the echo test expecting things to be slightly worse...but not as worse as they were! I could tell that something was seriously wrong by the look on the sonographer's face and just by my own recollection of prior echos. This one sounded different - much worse. When the echo report was released in my patient portal it read "There is SEVERE mitral regurgitation. Notified ordering physician." This led me to having many follow up appointments with a cardiologist and discussions that I would "likely" need surgery in the next 6 - 12 months.
With some retrospective, I realized that I had been having mild symptoms since late August 2020. I had a significant decrease in stamina and my body felt completely wiped at the end of every day. But having recently welcomed our first child into the family I figured this was just parenting exhaustion. However by December 2020 I could no longer make it all the way up the stairs if I was carrying something heavy (like my daughter).
The first few months of 2021 I had a left and right side cardiac catherization, a transesophageal echocardiogram, and another transthoracic echocardiogram. All the tests confirmed I had bi-leaflet mitral valve prolapse with severe regurgitation (but NO blockage!). Due to the anatomy of my valve I didn't have a well-defined central jet but rather one that spurted off at a 45* angle.
So here I am. It's early April and my surgery is scheduled for April 21. We do not know if my valve can be repaired but my surgeon is going to try!
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Boston, MA
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My surgery date is:
April 21, 2021
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I was diagnosed with:
Mitral Regurgitation
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My surgery was:
Mitral Valve Repair
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