Newly diagnosed - symptom questions

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Your history sounds just like mine - but as I just explained in a separate post, it turns out there is nothing wrong with my heart based on a very thorough catheterization (2+ hours on the table with repeated tests just to make sure of results. The cardio was seeing a significant discrepancy between the echo findings and what he was seeing in his direct measurements). I imagine he'll send me for a new echo just to see what's going on.
 
OK - clarification time. I reported above that "there is absolutely nothing wrong with my heart." That was based on what my wife reported to me based on her conversation with the cardiologist after the cath. Turns out that either I heard her wrong or she heard him wrong - who knows? Anyway, I do have "mild to moderate" stenosis but my heart looked much better in the cath procedure than the cardio expected it to based on the echo results. So I am still a candidate for AVR but do not yet meet criteria. I guess I just have to wait for the condition to get worse before they can fix the valve and hopefully reduce my symptoms, which are pretty debilitating as it is.
 
I don't know -- usually they call for surgery when either the measurements indicate things are bad enough, or when the patient presents symptoms, whichever comes first. The statistics for symptomatic aortic stenosis patients are not pretty after a year or so.

If your cardio won't proceed to surgery and you want to, I would get a second opinion.
 
I don't know -- usually they call for surgery when either the measurements indicate things are bad enough, or when the patient presents symptoms, whichever comes first. The statistics for symptomatic aortic stenosis patients are not pretty after a year or so.

If your cardio won't proceed to surgery and you want to, I would get a second opinion.
I have a followup appt with the cardio next Friday - I'll get all the details then.
 
You may want to get a second opinion from a SURGEON.

Surgeons like to FIX your heart Before there is Permanent Damage to the Muscles and Walls.
They also seem to have a 'better feel' for when to operate than many (Old School) Cardiologists who like to wait for Serious Symptoms (i.e. DAMAGE) to appear.

'AL Capshaw'
 
I plan to discuss this all next Friday. My cardio is a young hard charger, highly recommended by my internist. I want to get the full story from him and see where to go from there.
 
Julie, I don't remember the exact stats, nor do I even remember the source. I think it was something like only 25% of the patients having bicuspid valves ever show symptoms and an even smaller percentage of those 25% ever need corrective surgery. As I remember it, those of us who have symptoms and need surgery are only a small, small percentage of the total population having bicuspid valves. Sorry I can't be more specific. Maybe one of the others can. . .
 
Capshaw had it in a nutshell...surgeons are the ones I'd turn to in a heart beat!!! Cardios can wait too long...and by the time ";
Theyh
Think you are ready...well ,should you be like ME the rest of the heart takes for-ever ..go shop at j jills (online clearances
of up to 80%) for good looking sweats.... Don't wait...I wish I had not! Michellemsr

od
 
Capshaw had it in a nutshell...surgeons are the ones I'd turn to in a heart beat!!! Cardios can wait too long...and by the time ";
Theyh
Think you are ready...well ,should you be like ME the rest of the heart takes for-ever ..go shop at j jills (online clearances
of up to 80%) for good looking sweats.... Don't wait...I wish I had not! Michellemsr

od
In my case the stenosis is not sufficiently advanced to qualify for insurance to cover the surgery. As always, insurance would rather spend a zillion dollars to correct a problem instead of a much smaller number of dollars to prevent one.
 
OK - I had my 3-month followup echo this afternoon. Turns out I'm worse but not yet worse enough for surgery. I have progressed from "mild to moderate" to "moderate to severe" but my cardio says it's too early to see the surgeon. He's scheduled me for another echo in 3 months. He says there's no doubt the condition is advancing, but fairly slowly, and there is no sign of any heart damage other than the AS. He says he doesn't want to push me into surgery prematurely. I think I'm now at a point where I can push him a bit more and get him to agree, in fact he told me to push him. We'll see what happens at the next echo. I trust this guy - he's young, a real hard-charger (his specialty is interventional cardio), but is apparently not in a huge hurry to recommend surgery.
 
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