Steve's Profile

Until four weeks ago I had never heard of the mitral valve. That was until my PCP heard a heart murmur during a routine physical. One echo test later and I am told I have mitral valve regurgitation that looks moderate but is probably severe and will require surgery. It still seems surreal.. but apparently I have had this my whole life and its finally manifested itself. I am only 34 and besides being a little overweight and a slightly elevated cholesterol I am in good health. The signs have all been here.. fatigue, general malaise and a few episodes what I thought were panic attacks but probably were related to this condition. Generally I have no symptoms.. I don't have trouble breathing on my back, I don't have swelling around the extremities. That's what makes this so hard to digest.. that I could have this serious problem but not have been incapacitated by it. I have a TEE on June 9th and then after that we will decide what to do. I am terrified but also confident. A co-worker had this problem last year and she had successful surgery and came through it fine. A 70 year old community leader had it and he is fine... but still most days I feel alone and lost. My cardiologist is confident about my prognosis, he says my heart is in great shape except for this one problem and that makes me feel better but still.. I'm the one who will be on the operating table. I have found the success stories and patient feed very helpful on here. Its good to know I am not the first person who has had to face this.