Thought I'd chime in on this one. I first found out about my BAV in 1990 when I got endocarditis the first time and I got my first echo. Prior to that I was told I just had a murmur and probably got it from rhuematic fever when I was a child. It was then that I was placed in the waiting room. I was in denial and began to live a life of eating right, thinking right, feeling right, taking gobs of supplements, and working out like crazy. I was convinced that I would show them all up and die of old age before they ever got a hold of me. It worked for 20 years. My valve progressed very slowly and sometimes I'd skip my annual echo by a year or two or more. No symptoms so I just figured they were mixing up my echo results with some other unlucky guy. Well Roxx, it worked for a very long time. I was told over and over that my lifestyle and exercise routine, which I made fun with surfing,skiing, hiking, climbing, etc. along with aerobic and anaroebic workouts was why I was still so healthy. I left the fast lane and lived in the "reverse commute" world of meditaton, yoga, and nature. I became a different person changed forever.Fast forward to 2009. My time had come. In March of last year, my echo showed the aortic valve area unchanged at 1.0cm2 from the previous year although the peak/mean gradients had increased from 60/34mmHg to 89/50mmHg.....severe aortic valve stenosis. I was losing windpower in my workouts but still going strong. I spent the summer in my camper in Southern Oregon from 6500' to 8000' hiking and running with my dogs, thinking I was just getting old and not in good condition. I was starting to get mild arrythmias never during activity and mostly just when I would lay down to go to bed. In November my next echo showed my valve had shifted gears. The valve area had decreased from 1.0cm2 to .86cm2 and the peak/mean gradient had increased from 89/50mmHg to 109/51mmHg. My cardiologist suggested I meet a surgeon and get educated on AVR.........SHOCKWAVES.........my time had really come. They were right and I had indeed not beat the odds. I prolonged the inevitable surgery, for which I would do over and over again. I then began a search for the right surgeon & team to do the job. I had decided I wanted the most minimally invasive procedure available and a team that did a high volume of procedures. The search started in Bend, Oregon, then moved south to Scripps in San Diego, then east to the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, and ended up with Dr. Gillinov at the Cleveland Clinic where I stand in line for my surgery scheduled for 2/22/10. My valve is still in 5th gear as I just completed another echo prior to a cath (through the wrist) at St. Charles in Bend and the valve area was .73cm2 and the peak/mean gradients was 87.3/54.0mmHg. I still have virtually no symptoms except for mild heart discomfort and mild arrythmias/palpitations. The docs won't let me workout or ski (bummer as I'm a ski instructor) so I'm not experiencing any loss of windpower. No problems walking up hills with the dogs. So there you have it. Next month I'm leaving the waiting room. It was great while I was waiting.....living a healthy and happy and worryfree life. Now I CAN'T WAIT to have the AVR and get on with my recovery. I'm listening to several guided visualization & relaxation CDs and getting my mind, body, and spirit programmed for a procedure with "no complications, minimal bleeding, and very little discomfort". I know that the AVR with allow me to continue to live my life and continue my lifestyle. Without the procedure......well there is no option here. Good Luck my friend and remember we all have choices. I choose to make this experience a very positive one. One which I will learn from and grow from and become a better and stronger person from.......BRING IT ON!!!
