Patrick7651
Active member
Hello everyone. Only my second post here. A little bit about me. I am 49 years old and have been in good health. I am quite physically active both with exercise (not so much lately, Dr's orders) and work around the home. I have two daughters, 10 and 8.
My story:
Back in 2013 my NP recommended an echo to check on a mumur that she had picked up during my annual physical. The echo went well and the results were that I had mild regurge. The comment was made that they would just keep an eye on it yearly. No worries. I really did not understand the seriousness of the condition at the time. The following two years, and two different Dr's, there was no mention of the issue at these physicals, so the issue fell out of mind. I guess the seriousness never hit me because I had associated it with my existing PAC issue. Well In September of 2016, I again went in for my physical. This time I was seen by the same NP as in 2013. She immediately commented on the need for another echo after listening to my heart. A few weeks later the echo was performed followed quickly by a visit with my newly assigned cardiologist. He explained in detail what I was facing and told me that i had severe aortic valve stenosis and was showing early signs of ventricular hypertrophy. He then set up a schedule for shorter monitoring with echo's every six months. Well the week following I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. I could not grasp the diagnosis and the severity of it. I requested a more thorough TEE. After waking up from the TEE, the Dr told me that I had a bicuspid valve that was "abnormally abnormal" . He then continued by stating that i would be getting an angio performed in a couple weeks followed by surgery in January. The angio revealed no other issues with my heart and confirmed the previous findings.
Of course After that news I began searching out more information regarding my condition. That research led me to this forum, which has been very informative and helpful. I also wanted to get the best possible care i could for surgery and post-op. Luckily i live just south of Buffalo, NY and have decided on Cleveland Clinic as it is only a short three hour drive down the road and one of the best in the country for this type of surgery.
I received a call from the surgeons nurse last week to confirm my scheduling and talked to her at great length. She confirmed that my surgeon would be Dr Gosta Pettersson. She also mentioned the various options he had suggested for replacing my AV. She mentioned the traditional tissue and mechanical, but then she mentioned the Ozaki Procedure. That was new to me. I looked it up and found that it is an on the fly valve replacement using your own pericardial tissue. Interesting. Very new so there is not much data on it that i could find. She also mentioned that the Dr was shying away from mechanical because I am a police detective. I assume that this caution is due to the warfarin and not any physical limitations i would be under post surgery. So i head down on the 6th of February for all my pre-op testing and meet with the surgical team and anesthesiology then the Dr on the 7th.
Needless to say my emotions have run the gamut from lets get it done to scared out of my mind. Now that the scheduling is all in place it has settled in as real. That was an emotional moment for me. It is hard not to be when I think of my family.
My story:
Back in 2013 my NP recommended an echo to check on a mumur that she had picked up during my annual physical. The echo went well and the results were that I had mild regurge. The comment was made that they would just keep an eye on it yearly. No worries. I really did not understand the seriousness of the condition at the time. The following two years, and two different Dr's, there was no mention of the issue at these physicals, so the issue fell out of mind. I guess the seriousness never hit me because I had associated it with my existing PAC issue. Well In September of 2016, I again went in for my physical. This time I was seen by the same NP as in 2013. She immediately commented on the need for another echo after listening to my heart. A few weeks later the echo was performed followed quickly by a visit with my newly assigned cardiologist. He explained in detail what I was facing and told me that i had severe aortic valve stenosis and was showing early signs of ventricular hypertrophy. He then set up a schedule for shorter monitoring with echo's every six months. Well the week following I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. I could not grasp the diagnosis and the severity of it. I requested a more thorough TEE. After waking up from the TEE, the Dr told me that I had a bicuspid valve that was "abnormally abnormal" . He then continued by stating that i would be getting an angio performed in a couple weeks followed by surgery in January. The angio revealed no other issues with my heart and confirmed the previous findings.
Of course After that news I began searching out more information regarding my condition. That research led me to this forum, which has been very informative and helpful. I also wanted to get the best possible care i could for surgery and post-op. Luckily i live just south of Buffalo, NY and have decided on Cleveland Clinic as it is only a short three hour drive down the road and one of the best in the country for this type of surgery.
I received a call from the surgeons nurse last week to confirm my scheduling and talked to her at great length. She confirmed that my surgeon would be Dr Gosta Pettersson. She also mentioned the various options he had suggested for replacing my AV. She mentioned the traditional tissue and mechanical, but then she mentioned the Ozaki Procedure. That was new to me. I looked it up and found that it is an on the fly valve replacement using your own pericardial tissue. Interesting. Very new so there is not much data on it that i could find. She also mentioned that the Dr was shying away from mechanical because I am a police detective. I assume that this caution is due to the warfarin and not any physical limitations i would be under post surgery. So i head down on the 6th of February for all my pre-op testing and meet with the surgical team and anesthesiology then the Dr on the 7th.
Needless to say my emotions have run the gamut from lets get it done to scared out of my mind. Now that the scheduling is all in place it has settled in as real. That was an emotional moment for me. It is hard not to be when I think of my family.
