Jeff's Journal

Hey everyone! Good morning!! Jeff, Version 2.0, is doing well. I feel better than I have in over perhaps -- the past 20+ years. Its' REALLY weird to know that my congenital aortic valve dis-function eventually manifested when I turned 65 - thank you Medicare. ;>) Anyway - as previously stated, going into all this, I was not aware of my condition, and had presented no outward symptoms. It was a casual listen of my heart by my PCP that started this whole adventure a year and a-half ago. I'm quite thankful for what did not happen! Here's something that might help somebody . . . While talking with my cardiac surgeon afterward, I asked if my condition could have been why I seemed unable to last through any endurance athletics in high school, college and beyond. While sprints and/or brief burst of effort were fine, anything extended resulted with me being, at times, severely out of breath. His response pretty-much affirmed my working theory. Tomorrow is my final M-W-F Cardiac Rehab session. I walk the neighborhood 3 miles on Tuesday & Thursdays. My cardiologist has cleared me to resume my push-ups, planks and lap swimming. I look forward to seeing how I feel after working back up to a good 200- then 400-yard swim. Kind regards to all. J.

Hello all. Now that I'm going into my 6th week post-op - an update. EVERY SINGLE DAY . . . following the operation was/is better than the day before. During the 3rd week, I felt I could do/resume pretty-much anything I did before surgery. HOWEVER that "foolish optimism" got shot down any/every time I had to cough or worse - sneeze unexpectedly. Additionally, while I was able to get up and enjoy each day (blissfully doing little more than You-Tubing), I had no energy reserves whatsoever. I was often drained well before the day's end. Big improvements during week #4 with energy reserves up enough to get me through the daylight hours, but not much more. Sleeping patterns have been erratic. Was expected. Still are - to some extent. Had my 1st night's complete sleep just a few days ago. (Not at all worried or concerned about this.) I'm a side-sleeper. That has added to my sleep challenges. Last week (week #5) was the first week I could lay on my side for more than 20 minutes. Getting a recliner/adjustable bed just before the procedure has helped a LOT. Coughing is now only a noticeable annoyance. The surprise sneeze however, still hurts and stops me in my tracks. This coming Friday, the 16th, will be the official end of 6 weeks post-op. I'm looking forward to cardio-rehab so I can work back up to resume weights, stretching and swimming after the 1st of the year. Today I returned to my desk & computer to catch up on banking. I'll dive back into eMail probably - Wednesday. Did I mention how WONDERFUL is has been to ignore (not even open) eMail since 09/01? Remember - your recovery is all about YOU! Enjoy, or at least embrace your recommended downtime! No need to let life's stresses back in prematurely. Resume whatever you want, only when you have the CONFIDENCE of knowing you have the energy to see it through. Internally, my blood pressure is running a bit high (150/100 @ 85bpm). The surgeon, cardiologist and I are working with aspirin, lisinopril and metoprolol to lower/slow these numbers so my heart, slightly enlarged, might remodel itself by not having to work as hard as it has for the past several years. My left leg, below the knee, where they harvested a vein for the bypassses, continues to be noticeably larger that the right leg - understandable as the left leg's circulatory return system has to grow/adjust/compensate for the major vein now gone. God's grace & blessings to each of you. Jeff.

Good morning all! To fill in a bit from my pre-surgery post (and then, ask question) . . . When my wife and I visited with the surgeon on Wed 9/2, the day after the Angiogram, his first question was: "Tell me what a normal day of activity is for you." We didn't understand and asked him to elaborate. "With what I see in the imaging we've done on you, I am quite surprised you've not reported any heart-health-concern questions." As I posted earlier, the only "symptom" know was my high & low BP caused by Aortic Regurgitation. Endurance, strength, high-activity, swimming, conditioning, etc. has never been a problem. My procedure was on Fri 9/4. Went quite well. Aortic valve replaced, Mitral valve repaired and a triple- (instead of Double-) bypass. During ICU recovery the good doctor stopped by to inform me my condition had been congenital; with me since before birth, manifest only by my age (now: 64) . . . and he was still surprised I had been asymptomatic. (I guess we don't know what we don't know - eh?) Anyway - discharged 6 days later. Am at home feeling better every day, enjoying doing VERY little for the next several weeks. So here's my question. Who, if you would care to post, found out their condition was congenital; previously unknown? I for one, have moments of deep introspection that things could have gone very, very differently for me during my hyper-active high school. then college, then beyond "more youthful days (you know, right? When "Stupid Pills" were in no short supply?) Kind regards to all.

So . . . visited my CV Surgeon yesterday. Surgery scheduled for tomorrow morning. From Angiogram done two days ago, we confirmed Aortic valve replacement and Mitral Valve repair. Newly discovered however, is the need to include a double-bypass. LDA appears 70% blocked. Had no clue! Other than my high systolic and low diastolic BP numbers (often a 100+ point difference, characteristic of Aortic regurgitation), I've had NONE of the usual and customary heart disease symptoms. Looking forward to the "Jeff 2.0" with normalize BP which ought to relieve a whole bunch of things I didn't know that I didn't know. Pre-Op, later this morning.

So ... I thought long and hard whether to post this before, or after my upcoming surgery. But (1) now that my care has been transferred to the Thoracic Surgeon and (2) this frustration continues to gnaw at me, I've elected to get it out now and ask the community for its collective opinion. My primary condition is Aortic Regurgitation requiring valve replacement. I've had high systolic and low diastolic blood pressure for at least the past 20 years, that tracked with my excessive weight, that had not been flagged until 6 months ago - perhaps due to my age (64) the condition didn't manifest all that much until this past year. But I digress. I've learned that declining to take a statin does not endear one to their cardiologist. In my case, after declining several times during consultation, my cardiologist said he takes a statin. Shocked, I asked: "Are you in good health? And if so, why would you medicate for a non-existent problem?" (Yet another way to discourage endearment.) He said he did so as a preventive as his family has a history high C. So I replied: "Okay, so with my C level running pretty steady at 175, which is below the 200 recommended threshold, when my valve is replaced, eliminating the regurgitation, my blood pressure will normalize and eliminate the need for ANY medication - right?" (Have I mentioned that I might have an issue with endearment?) His response: "Yes, your BP will normalize, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be on a statin." I thanked him and again - declined. On a subsequent tele-health session he asked if I would be open to another BP-lowering medication that wasn't a statin. I said I would and he prescribed Metoprolol @ 25mg, daily. “That’s odd”.” I thought after picking up the medication from the pharmacy. The drug information sheet had not been included. So I Googled it. What I saw SHOCKED me. That medication has an FDA Black Box warning to not go off the drug without medical supervision because of the resulting risk of a heart attack! When I raised this with the cardiologist via MyChart, his response was: "Don't worry. That's only for people who are on high dosages." And he immediately cut my consumption order in-half. At the day's end, well after I'm off all post-op meds and my BP has normalized, my wish is to get off the Metoprolol, and HTCZ as soon as possible. BTW – while there’s been no change in my BP levels, my resting pulse rate has gone done 10% to (avg) 53 bpm. Finally, I remember watching a YouTube of a retired doctor who said today’s doctors can be sued for not prescribing a statin. Overall, I’m kind of thinking I’m nothing more than a non-descript member of the herd. Kind regards to all.