I need INFO all help appreciated!!!!

[lcwhitney]

I have a good friend who was born with pulmonary stenosis, her valve was repaired when she was 5 years old. She is now 25 and wants to start planning a family. Since valve problems are something that she has lived with all of her life and the fact that her husband is a nurse, when they started thinking about a family she went to her OB doc and he sent her to her cardiologist. The only thing that he would tell her is that she was making too much out of getting pregant and to consider adoption. She is very mad to say the least. She finally got his PA to tell her that he was just having a bad day and did not really have time to answer her questions that day.

The first thing I said was new cardiologist. She agreed. I am sorry this is so long but it made me mad too.
What I have been looking for is information on the affects or complications experienced during pregnancy/labor when these valves were repaired as a child.

Lettitia

 

[Nancy]

Hi Letittia-

Your friend needs to get together with a sympathetic cardiologist. She will probably need to have a good cardiology workup to determine the condition of her heart at this time. As we all know, you can't just assume that heart problems stay the way they are supposed to, and pregnancy puts a large strain on the heart.

My guess is that they will take a good look at the pressures in her heart and the condition of her valves and how she handles physical stress.

I wish her good luck with the situation.

 

[medtronic of borg]

preg

preg

I'd say use your husband!!! The real ? to ask is does she have Dm? If not, can her heart withstand a preg.?

Medtronic of borg

 

[Creed3]

Hi Lettitia,
Your friend definately needs to find a cardiologist who will take the time to answer her questions. Like Nancy already said, it would be a good idea for her to have her heart checked out and see what condition she is in now.
I never had had heart trouble at all my entire life until I became pregnant. I had two c-sections, never got to the pushing stage. Lucky thing for me. Pregnancy puts an awful lot of additional stress on the heart, not to mention labor and delivery. The additional stress on my heart from my two pregnancies is what caused my problems.

Take Care!
Gail

 

[McCln]

Lettitia

Lettitia

I agree with the others. If she is not have any major problems, like her breathing, or chest pains, I believe she should be able to have children. I was not on coumadin till I had the aortic valve replaced. I had repair at age eight and did just fine. She does need to find a more responsive, caring cardiologist. There are more fish in the sea and there is a kind person out there. Tell your friend to not give up hope and she should be able to have kids. Just have to get with the right doctor. Medicine holds a lot of miracles these days. I will pray for her and let us know how she fairs in the search.

Caroline
09-13-01
Aortic valve replacement
St. Jude's valve

 

[lcwhitney]

Thanks guys. I am glad to see I was not out of line telling her to get a new cardiologist. Since the pedi cardiologist she saw as a child has died, her mother was finally able to get her an appointment with the best peds cardiologist in the state. He lives here in town but he does not normally see adults that he did not treat as a child. The only problem is that the appointment is not until September. Between now and then we intend to find out everything we can about the mortality and morbity rates of her condition. I found several articles in an ACOG journal.

One of these articles had a statistic that really concerns me, It said that women who have had pulmonary stenosis had on average a 60% greater chance of dying from complications during a pregnancy than other women. They made no mention of whether the cardiac patients were compared to other cardiac patients or non cardiac patients. Also showed no difference between congenital defects and valve damage from bacterial endocarditis or other things.
If anyone runs across any helpful statistics or info please let me know.

Lettitia

 

[pegne]

Lettitia

Lettitia

I agree with those who have said that your friend needs to see a cardio and check to see how her heart is now. I had my first surgery at the age of 18 (Jan. 1980, 2 months before my 19 b-day). In May of 1981 I gave birth to my daughter. Whenever I saw my OB I had to see my cardio. I was monitered pretty closely. Although I did deliver naturally I had a hard time of it. I never did have any more kids and according to my cardio it was just as well. It seems I should not have labored for twenty two hours. In 1994 at the age of 32 I had a hysterectomy for something unrelated to my heart but was told under the circumstances it was a good thing. My heart could not handle any more pregnancies. I wish your friend all the luck in the world and I hope she finds the answers soon so that they can plan accordingly. I do understand their desire to have a child. My daughter is my heart and soul and I could not even imagine what life would be like if she were never born.