hi all!
i know many of you have started taking your kids to see cardiologists for fear that congenital valve anomalies may have been "passed down" to your kids.
i decided to do the same thing last summer. i took our 2 girls to see a cardiologist (joey's doc's partner).
their pcp had never heard any murmurs but thought it was a good idea and that we would have nothing to lose.
rachel, our older daughter (19) got a totally clean bill of health and was dismissed.
jamie (15), who is a dancer and is very physically fit, was fine. only one strange finding....
there is a sequence in which you are supposed to hear/feel one's pulse. i'm not sure if it is supposed to be felt first at the wrist, then at the carotid, and then at the groin, but in jamie's case it's reversed.
her echo shows all is perfectly normal. this "reversed order" of the pulse is a symptom of coarctation of the aorta, but she doesn't have any other symptoms (which would include leg fatigue when active among others). he said he wasn't worried and that it could just be a fluke or it could be a very, very mild case of this. either way, nothing would be cdone about it at this stage.
this was last summer and the cardio said let's just see her back in a year.
this year, same findings. she is strong, fit, dancing 6 hard hours a day every day and feeling good.
the cardio suggested we do an MRI at some point before she leaves for college (in 2 years), so that we don't alarm her needlessly.
well, talk about an attentive doctor.... i get a call from him yesterday saying that he was not satisfied "not knowing" and called several colleagues to consult about jamie's case. he said that he would prefer that we have the MRI done this year over the next few months at her leisure, because he would feel more comfortable "knowing".
i cannot blame him one bit and am so glad to see she is in good hands.
he told me that he spoke with one of the heads at columbia who is in charge of pediatric cardio and MRI's (liaison) and that when we're ready, he will give us her name and number and she will be expecting our call.
i mentioned this to jamie, who, naturally, got very upset. she is an extremely sensitive and perceptive kid and i'm sure she is worried (as am i).
anyone out there ever hear of this in such a mild form? anyone able to give me some insight into this?
i am numb.
thanks for listening.
-sylvia
i know many of you have started taking your kids to see cardiologists for fear that congenital valve anomalies may have been "passed down" to your kids.
i decided to do the same thing last summer. i took our 2 girls to see a cardiologist (joey's doc's partner).
their pcp had never heard any murmurs but thought it was a good idea and that we would have nothing to lose.
rachel, our older daughter (19) got a totally clean bill of health and was dismissed.
jamie (15), who is a dancer and is very physically fit, was fine. only one strange finding....
there is a sequence in which you are supposed to hear/feel one's pulse. i'm not sure if it is supposed to be felt first at the wrist, then at the carotid, and then at the groin, but in jamie's case it's reversed.
her echo shows all is perfectly normal. this "reversed order" of the pulse is a symptom of coarctation of the aorta, but she doesn't have any other symptoms (which would include leg fatigue when active among others). he said he wasn't worried and that it could just be a fluke or it could be a very, very mild case of this. either way, nothing would be cdone about it at this stage.
this was last summer and the cardio said let's just see her back in a year.
this year, same findings. she is strong, fit, dancing 6 hard hours a day every day and feeling good.
the cardio suggested we do an MRI at some point before she leaves for college (in 2 years), so that we don't alarm her needlessly.
well, talk about an attentive doctor.... i get a call from him yesterday saying that he was not satisfied "not knowing" and called several colleagues to consult about jamie's case. he said that he would prefer that we have the MRI done this year over the next few months at her leisure, because he would feel more comfortable "knowing".
i cannot blame him one bit and am so glad to see she is in good hands.
he told me that he spoke with one of the heads at columbia who is in charge of pediatric cardio and MRI's (liaison) and that when we're ready, he will give us her name and number and she will be expecting our call.
i mentioned this to jamie, who, naturally, got very upset. she is an extremely sensitive and perceptive kid and i'm sure she is worried (as am i).
anyone out there ever hear of this in such a mild form? anyone able to give me some insight into this?
i am numb.
thanks for listening.
-sylvia
Hope it is an open one....they will have to put me asleep if I ever have another one..Closed up feeling
