bicuspid aortic valve w/numbness

[denobobeno]

I'm new to all this..I always love reading all the info you pass on to one another and thought maybe someone could help me... I have 3+ bicuspid aortic regurg, 1+ mitral regurg, & 1+ tricuspid. I have shortness of breath, like I can't get a deep breath??? I experience other symptoms too, but my new one is..yesterday, following some heavy strenuous activity I experienced numbness beginning in my forearms, then it continued in my lower legs. Has anyone ever experienced this before or heard of it? I don't know when to be my own advocate.. Here are my latest measurements. I don't know if they are okay or if maybe it might be worth seeing a surgeon:
Left ventricle has a fractional shortening of 27%.
Ejection fraction is 50-55% and is a little more enlarged than my last echo.
Aortic E.J. is 55-60%.
Diastolic dysfunction with E.J. 55-60%
No evidence of stenosis
I'm 44 and 5'3 and weigh 107. I have always run and excercised but now it's difficult! Thanks for ANY help!

 

[Phyllis]

You should always be your own advocate. I would definitely call the doctor with your latest symptom and if you don't feel you are getting satisfaction, I would consider another opinion.

 

[geebee]

Welcome.
Numbness is never normal unless you know you did something to cut off circulation. Whether it is connected to your valve issues or not, it should be checked and fairly quickly.

 

[Georgia]

Welcome, Deno. Glad you joined us.

At 44, you should feel good. You have some major symptoms - shortness of breath in and of itself is NOT normal. I'll bet you're also tired and have reduced your activities to accomodate this. These symptoms steal up on you so stealthily as your body attempts to compensate for your poor heart problems.

See a doctor immediately. If your cardiologist won't send you to a surgeon, find one yourself. I ditto Phyllis - you must be proactive in your treatment.

Yes, the numbness in the extremities is not uncommon; many of us had some type of heaviness or numbness. It's not a good thing; you need to get going on this.

Hang in there; by joining us you've taken a really important first step.

 

[denobobeno]

aortic/ numbness

aortic/ numbness

Wow! Thankyou so much for your suggestions and reassurance. So some of you HAVE experienced the numbness? What do ya'll think of my E.J. and so forth? I know you all have become the experts due to your experiences! Thanks, Deana

 

[Marguerite53]

Careful, careful. We are not experts. We DO, however, know how to ask questions expertly!!

Please call your doctor about the numbness. And tell us what he says.

As to the measurements, someone will be along who knows more than me. Do you have a measure for your aortic valve opening?

Welcome to our wonderful community, Deana!! Glad to have you.

Marguerite

 

[denobobeno]

Hi, I'm soo glad to be a part of this forum. My Cardiologist's nurse told me to go see my regular Doctor and get a blood work up because it could be low potassium or something else, then if my regular Doc thinks it's heart then he'll send me to my Cardiologist. I called and made an appointment. I went in yesterday, and of course the Doctor was booked up for two weeks, I didn't want to wait so I saw the Nurse Practitioner. She said it sounded like heart to her but ordered blood work anyway. It should be back Friday. She was going to reccomend me going to see my Cardiologist pending the blood work is normal. I don't think it's blood related. But what do I know. My gut says it's my heart. Believe me I wish I was normal. I ran a marathon 15 years ago, and have always jogged and lifted weights..now I just can't do all that. It's frustrating.. but I'm thankful, don't get me wrong. One other thing. When I had the numbness I went to the internet to see what I could find and when I was typing I was having a difficult time typing...I would mispell words and have to backspace.. I hate talking about myself so much...but there is noone my age that I know that I can talk to about all this.. I feel so alone about all this. Thanks for the support.. you can start feeling like your crazy sometimes and maybe nothing is really wrong! Deana

 

[Georgia]

I hope you told the nurse pract. about the trouble typing. I'm no expert on this, but it does sound like a TIA - and they're an issue with valvers. Don't let your doc horse around getting you to a cardio.

 

[geebee]

Deana,
I agree with Georgia, it sounds like a TIA. I have had many of them mostly with facial numbness but I have had a few where my arm went completely numb. It is scary and has the potential for being dangerous. The numbness, along with the difiiculty with typing and forming words indicate something that needs to be addressed right away.
Please go to see your cardio.

P.S. talk about yourself all you want, that is what this website is all about. We cannot help if we do not have enough information.

 

[Mary]

Deana,
Why don't you call the NP and ask her about the probability of it being a TIA?
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

 

[denobobeno]

Thanks for all your replies!! You don't know how helpful it is! After I got home I realized that I forgot to tell her that part about the difficulty typing and thinking of how to spell a word. I started to call but then I thought I might be making too big a deal of it. But, with your encouragement I'll call back tomorrow and tell her. Hopefully I'll get in to see my cardiologist the first of next week. You know how that goes.. you have to be dying in order to get in quickly.
P.S. Geebee, I loved your response to the 'Her Majesty' turkey! Ha!