About Me (In My Own Words)
My first open heart surgery was when I was 4 to repair an atrial septal defect. My second open heart surgery was when I was 6 to repair my mitral valve with a porcine valve. It lasted for 8 years. It was then replaced with a mechanical valve when I was 15. The brilliant doctors anticipated possible complications with scarring and implanted a pacemaker wire at the time of the surgery (just in case). Turned out during my recovery time in the hospital, they had to implant the pacemaker due to heart block. Going home was a little bit of an adjustment. As a teenager with a pacemaker during the 80's, I still had to stay away from microwaves. So going to 7-11 with friends always pretty funny to have to enter looking for where the microwave was. I adjusted well and have had continuous follow-up with cardiac and pacemaker care. It's been 36 years since my mechanical valve was implanted. I've been through 5 pacemakers and my leads are years old. I am in chronic a-fib, but am stable and don't have major complications. I'm at the point that I'm wondering how long is this valve going to last? If my leads need to be replaced, that would be a pretty big ordeal considering calcification, etc. I'm not worried per se, but since my valve was implanted during at time where it was relatively new technology and only few people survived during my time of porcine valve implant....wondering if there is anyone out there that has had a mechanical valve for while. Wondering if you can share any experiences you've had or successes. I'm in the process of trying to find a doctor that understands me. Not easy. That's all for now. Thanks for creating this site.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Frederick, MD
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I was diagnosed with:
Mitral Stenosis
Atrial Fibrillation
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My surgery was:
Mitral Valve Replacement
Pacemaker Implant
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My hospital is:
Childrens National Medical Center
