Hey there. I just wanted to introduce myself. 38 y.o. Male. Construction worker, San Francisco.
I have been physically active my whole life. Played sports as a child and teenager, got into construction, and enjoyed physically creating things and working with my hands. Outdoors on the weekends. Stayed in good shape, alot of cardio. Never used steroids or any other supplements aside from GNC protein powder.
I got sick in Sept. of 22 with the flu. I stopped exercising when sick, and waited until I felt healthy to resume. 4 weeks later I resumed running, but noticed I would get winded quickly and so stopped pushing myself. I shortened my workouts and figured I'd get it back with time.
About 10 months ago, I noticed I would get lightheaded when climbing tall ladders occasionally, but in the mornings only. I figured maybe I needed to cut back on the coffee, and would fill my moring thermos with 50% water to dilute my coffee. However these lightheaded/dizzy spells contiued sporadically.
I went to a physician, and after explaining the above, was given a blood panel, physical exam, and ekg. The results came back that I was in perfect health. 6 months later I returned to the same physican and explaned that the dizzy spells had become more frequent, multiple times a week. The same tests were repeated with the same result. At this point I was still working out and lifting weights, but not at the scale I had been previous to catching the flu.
A few weeks ago, I was sitting in my car taking morning break at work and felt very weak. Confused, dizzy and lightheaded. I called to make an appt with my physician. As I went to get out of my car, I fell back into the car seat. I felt pressure in my chest, and expelled a powerful cough. My heart was pounding and thudding in my head. I thought to myself 'here comes a heart attack' and called for an ambulance. At the hospital I was told that I was experiencing arrythmia, not heart attack or stroke.
I followed up with my physician, and was referred to a cardiologist. I was given a Holter Monitor to wear for 2 days, and a echocardiogram was scheduled for the following week. I felt especially ill the day of the echo, chest pains, weakness and fatigue. After the echo I was told I have MVP, and the cardiologist expressed suprise that I had not complained sooner. A Transesophageal echocardiogram was scheduled for a few days later, with a follow up 2 days after that to go over the results. After the TEE I was told its likely my mitral valve would need to be repaired or replaced. This personally does not suprise me; I have gone from climbing ladders and working physically 8 hours a day, to being strained taking out the trash or going to the grocery store. In 2 days I have the follow up with my cardiologist, in which they will discuss my diagnosis and possible courses of action.
I have found a great deal of useful information lurking on this site. In particular are the comparisons of MVP repair vs replace, Bio vs Mechanical, and possible courses of medication with each. From this point on, I am interested in educating myself so I am able to recieve the best care possible in the Bay Area. The big name hospitals I keep hearing about are Stanford and UCSF. My current Cardiologist is with Dignity Health. After some conversations I have also heard the name on the building is not as important as the experience of the surgeon performing the operation. If anyone has any recomendations for a PPO health plan with generous coverage in the Bay Area regarding MVP, please let me know.
Thank You.
We might have different mindsets. (Which is certainly ok!) For me, to compare systems X and Y, I'd need to see a sizable statistics from both.
