New here and thanks in advance

[Paul Schur]

I do have a question. Everyone keeps asking me if I have symptoms and I tell them I don't know. I mean this is not something that just comes over you all at once, from what I have read it builds up over years. So my point is how do you separate what happens as we age from the valve problem? I can't do what I did at 30 or even 40 as well as I did then but most 50 year olds would say the same. Do I get winded when I exercise, well yea, that is part of what is supposed to happen when you exercise. They told me today those questions and their associated answers would determine my course of action.

It wasn't possible for me to know if I was feeling symptoms until long after my surgery. Only months later could I realize what the differences were. Before surgery I had no idea I had symptoms, like you said, how to separate valve issues from aging? For me, not possible. As obvious as my case was I got a second opinion, and then a third. I also interviewed six heart surgeons before finding the one who was a fit for me - all over a span of 2.5 weeks. Three days before my surgery I insisted they replace the anesthesiologist based upon something random he said to me, at that moment I knew he wasn't the right person to be in charge of keeping me alive during surgery. I interviewed two others before surgery. Be active, be aggressive in your pursuit of finding the right doctors for you, don't worry about hurting anyone's feelings along the way, and get second or even third opinions.

 

[Paleowoman]

I do have a question. Everyone keeps asking me if I have symptoms and I tell them I don't know. I mean this is not something that just comes over you all at once, from what I have read it builds up over years. So my point is how do you separate what happens as we age from the valve problem? I can't do what I did at 30 or even 40 as well as I did then but most 50 year olds would say the same. Do I get winded when I exercise, well yea, that is part of what is supposed to happen when you exercise. They told me today those questions and their associated answers would determine my course of action.

I had absolutley no symptoms prior to surgery. I really didn't. I was 60 when I was referred for surgery and I was actually probably at my peak fitness wise - may sound strange to some people but there it is. Seven years prior to surgery I'd had a diagnosis of osteoporosis and as a result took up weight training as that helps increase bone density. The weight training got me really, really fit ! I thought I was fit before but I just got fitter. Even the technician who did my last echo before surgery remarked on the fitness of my heart and guessed I did weight lifting I've only recently recovered to nearly the level of fitness I had prior to surgery - it's taken over a year. My surgery was done before any changes to my left ventricular - perhaps that's why ? They timed it to just before I would have started to get symptoms. Based the timing on my mean pressure gradient.

 

[TitanEddie]

So met with cardiologist today and a mixed bag. Echo was bad, pressure gradient of 6.5 with a mean of I think he said 4.6. Said the top number is really bad but the mean was not as bad. Said I should be having some significant symptoms based on those numbers, but I'm not. He said the heart looked fine and it could be because of the amount of exercise I get, which seemed a bit odd but he said it could be that my heart was just strong and I may have a naturally high gradient. Not that it changes anything but the timing. Said he couldn't get a good look at the aorta from the echo so I am scheduled for an MRI and have a appointment with a surgeon. After that I will know when I may be looking at surgery. So, more waiting, damn it. Did get cleared for exercise as long as I don't get light headed. Wants to do an angio before surgery which seems logical. Guess I am officially in the waiting room now. Told him it feels like having the Sword of Damocles hanging over me and he said if it seems close but not quite there and I really want to they may be able to move things up.

 

[epstns]

I had a somewhat similar situation to yours, Eddie. For a couple of years, my "numbers" were where many docs would have gone right to surgery but I had no symptoms other than I was tired more than I thought was usual or normal for an active guy my age. I was (and still am) a self-confessed gym rat and prior to surgery was running daily. My cardio told me that the human heart is a wondrous muscle in that it can remodel itself and compensate for many of its own shortcomings, and my heart was a good example of that. My heart compensated so that it was many years into the disease process before any of the dimensions got to the "danger" points, and even then I had no symptoms and was still exercising and lifting moderate weights. Life wasn't so bad, once I got past the conclusion that major surgery was definitely in my future, but that we weren't sure exactly when. My cardio felt, and I agreed, that he could not in clear conscience, recommend surgery at that time because I was "fine" where I was and we could not be sure that I'd be better than that after surgery.

Now comes the tough part, for me at least. Eventually I had my surgery at a hospital that is consistently high in the national rankings for heart surgery. My surgeon was the top surgeon for valve surgery at that hospital and he had been recruited from a high position at Cleveland Clinic a few years before. He even played a key role in the development of the valve I chose. I still had complications after surgery. I ended up with a pacemaker and wasn't even ready for cardiac rehab until 12 weeks post op. I am NOT telling you this to scare you. I am telling you this because even though we may be in great shape prior to surgery, once we're off the OR table, we're all back at square one and have to work our way back to wherever we want to be.

My first few months were somewhat hellish. Once I started rehab, things began to pick up, and by the time I finished the 12-week rehab program, I was back to full normal activities. I am now 4 years post-op and still going to the gym 5 days a week. I do everything a guy my age can do (I'm now 67), and even more. I'm in better shape than most men 15 years my junior, and life is truly good.

Hang in there. Get through this part and the rest is just another journey to be taken. We'll be here for you, too.

 

[TitanEddie]

Just trying to stay sane until I find out the what and when. Once I have an idea I think it will be easier to cope with the waiting. Did get cleared to go back to the gym and resume softball which will help. At least I will be back to my normal routine.