Cheryl's Profile

I was diagnosed with mild-moderate aortic regurgitation in 2013 at age 59, but the extent of congenital issues was not realized until a MRI/MRA w/ and w/o contrast in 2018 which is when I also began seeing a congenital cardiologist. I have a functionally biscuspid valve with associated thoracic aortopathy as well as a highly tortuous cervical arch and a few other more minor congenital issues. I developed aFib but due to my (normal for me) very low heart rate, I felt awful and was not a candidate for medications. I had a very timely and successful ablation in 2019. My sinus node began to function less well and I decided to get a pacemaker 2/2020 after testing positive for chronotropic incompetence (barely). I asked my electrophysiologist if it was reasonable for me to not wait until my exercise capacity was reduced even further as I am an active person and those active pursuits matter to me. He agreed it was a valid choice and that it would not affect the number of pacemaker redoes. The pacemaker helped me feel better and I am happy with the choice, especially since I now have a great way to know my aFib status which continues to be very good though not perfect. This June (2021) I was told after my regular congenital echo, that the aortic regurgitation had progressed markedly and my congenital cardiologist believes surgery will be needed in the 'near term'. I just had a MRI/MRA both with and without contrast and am waiting results. Ideally my heart would continue to respond well so as to allow successive MRI/MRI to assess the current rate of change of my aorta dimensions to determine whether a replacement of the ascending aorta and possibly work on the arch is best done during the surgery. I am female with a lower BMI so my aortic dimensions do depend on how/whether one adjusts for body size, though they are dilated some by any measure. I live in a rural area and know I have to travel for surgery.