About Me (In My Own Words)
On August 15th of this year I went to a new internist, Dr Richard Greenspun, for a routine Physical (My previous physical was in January of 2017. So I was overdue). He was and is a very thorough Physician and a very affable guy. Everything seemed fine, except my blood pressure was high (I typically get white coat blood pressure at Dr visits, so I wasn't surprised, LOL), and THEN indicated that he heard a heart murmur. I was a little perplexed because I had never been told that in all of my 56 years, and wasn't experiencing any cardiac symptoms what so ever.
He sent me to my cardiologist Dr. Peter Pak at the Pacific Heart Institute. I had another thorough exam, had an echo, and a CT. The results were that I have moderate to severe aortic regurgitation due to what appeared to be an almost bicuspid valve that I was more than likely born with; no significant stenosis/or calcification; my LVEF was 30-35%, and My heart was dilated (enlarged). His opinion was that I needed aortic valve replacement surgery, and that it probably needed to be a full sternotomy. He started me on Entresto, Metoprolol, and spironolactone.
I was shocked! My father had a sternotomy done for a quadruple bi-pass surgery 25 years ago, at 72. It was very traumatizing for him. He never fully regained his good health, and very sadly, he passed away 5 years later of HF.
I immediately did some extensive research, and then decided to get some additional opinions. Thankfully my wife is a nationally prominent Dr of Physical Therapy who deals with a-lot of the best ortho surgeons in the country, and surprisingly treats many of the more prominent heart surgeons in West LA. So we made some calls, I consulted with 3 Surgeons at Cedars Sinai Smidt Heart Institute. Dr Alfredo Trento, specializing in full and mini robotic sternotomies, Raj Makkar, one of the leading TAVR surgeons in the country, and Danny Ramzy, who specializes in Robotic mini thoracotomies.
They all agree I should have a valve replacement. Dr Trento understood that I wasn't going to have a sternotomy if could avoid it, and I was a not happy when Dr Makkar told me I was too low risk (too healthy) for TAVR. So after consulting with Dr Ramzy, I decided if I'm going to do it, its gonna by way of the mini Thoracotomy.
Since August I've had multiple Echos, MRIs, CTs with and without dye, and am scheduled for a coronary angiography on December 17th, and am scheduled for the mini thoracotomy on January 14th. My current LVEF is now 50%, my ventricular systolic function has improved, and my left ventricular chamber size is smaller.
That being said, unless I'm missing something, the current consensus is I should still have the surgery. Gotta admit. I'm going thru all of the emotions, and questions I'm sure many of the rest of the community members have gone thru or are going thru. But I'm trying hard to stay positive, confident, and informed.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
-
I am from:
Pacific Palisades, CA
-
My surgery date is:
January 14, 2020
-
I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Regurgitation
-
My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
-
My surgeon is:
Dr. Danny Ramzy
-
