6 Month Followup?

[Lucidus]

Hello,
I had my Mitral Valve repaired on 10/22/02. My last checkup was in January, 2003. They told me that I had no more lifting, excercising or food restrictions. That's all fine and good, but I was never told to come back for any follow-ups at 6 months or even a year for that matter. Should I be concerned? I thought I heard that valve patients should have an echo every 6-12 months? I would think especially after the surgery, because sometimes the repair can weaken or fail.

Anyway, my IM Doctor told me he could not even hear a leak in January which is good. But my concern is that I am back into heavy training, running, etc. I plan to run 15 mile in September.

Should I ask for an echo followup? Seems like thr right thing to do.

Thanks for your input.
Tim

 

[JimL]

Hi Tim, it sounds like everything is going well for you, which is great!

I had the same concerns: When were they going to do an echo to reassure me that everything was all right? I think the key thought is that it would reassure me.

I had an echo at a couple of months post-op, but that was because of a-fib concerns. The real follow-up echo was at one year. Then the cardiologist told me to go away and not come back for another year.

Unless you have special concerns or problems, your card might not want you back until you have a one-year check-up. You might want to call the card and find out; mine said something about not being able to schedule a year in advance. You might especially want to call the card if you haven't talked to him/her before about "heavy training, running, etc."