About Me (In My Own Words)
I am 43 years old and have had a pretty healthy life so far. I've never been on long term medication or had any major hearth issues. I'm also what doctors would consider a low risk patient.
On October 27th, I went in for my routine annual physical. My doctor said that my heart murmur was more pronounced than usual. I've had a heart murmur since I was a teenager. He recommended that I see a Cardiologist to get it checked out further.
November 23rd, was my first appointment with my Cardiologist. She told me that my heart murmur was caused by a leaky valve. She was reassuring and said for me to continue my normal life. I regularly jogged a couple times a week and was also getting in shape for ski season. She did want me to have an echo-cardiogram to have a better understanding with the leaky valve long term.
On December 21st, my life changed forever and thank you to the Lord it was caught early with no real symptoms. I went in for the echo-cardiogram and saw my Cardiologist after the imaging. She came into the room and we talked briefly about the UW Huskies. Then she let me know the leakage was worse that she thought and I had Aortic Regurgitation, which was "Severe". During the rest of the appointment, we discussed the next steps of having a CT Scan and Angiogram after Christmas. She told me I could no longer exercise or have any strenuous activity. This meant I could also not ski this winter. She did say I could continue working, driving and doing the rest of normal activities. The week of December 26th, I had my CT Scan and Angiogram.
On January 19th, my wife and I met with Dr. Glenn Barnhart, Chief and Executive Director for Cardiac Surgical Services at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. Dr Barnhart was fantastic and reviewed in depth my heart condition. He explained the options for replacement valves and answered all of our questions. I am now scheduled for my Aortic Valve replacement surgery on February 22nd.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Bothell, WA
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My surgery date is:
February 22, 2017
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
Aortic Stenosis
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
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