About Me (In My Own Words)
My name is Elizabeth and I'm 49 and live in Golden, Colorado. I have always lived a very active lifestyle, skiing, cycling and a competitive golfer and tennis player. Needless to say when I was told I needed heart surgery I was in shock and became pretty anxious. My heart story really started 10 years ago when I had an echo because of a murmur my pcp doc heard. The cardiologist said at the time that I had a "bit" of mitral regurgitation and it wasn't anything to worry about or be followed. in May of 2014 I began to get very frequent and strong palpitations. My new pcp doc sent me for a halter test and echo. I was having supra ventricular tachacardia and the regurg was now moderate. Cardiologist said not a big deal and to repeat echo in 12 months. This past year I kept having coughing episodes after exercise and laying down in bed. I just pushed myself to get in even better shape thinking I wasn't pushing myself hard enough. Well, I had the echo again in May2015 and this time it comes back Severe regurg and stage 2 diastolic dysfunction! Once again, the cardiologist(a different one) says your left atrium is enlarging but you don't need to worry until you have more severe symptoms. Being an athlete this didn't sit well and I felt uneasy about his recommendations. One of my best friends is an anesthesiologist who specializes in cardiac cases. We golf a lot together and she was becoming concerned about my cough and palps that were so strong I had to pause a minute or so before hitting my golf ball. The next thing she did was send my echos to two of leading cardiac surgeons in Denver. I had consults with both and they said I needed surgery now or stop playing all my sports except golf! I We were really disappointed in the advice I got from my cardiologist. I spoke with him at my stress ech that one of the surgeons ordered and he back stepped and said it would be "reasonable" to operate now. I am hopefully going to have a right sided thoracotomy (4 inch incision) as opposed to full open heart access.I don't know anyone who has had this particular surgery and would like to chat online and gain some insight and reassurance. Well, that's my story !
UPDATE: I am now scheduled for a redo surgery as my repair from 10/05/2015 has failed! Read my jounal for more updates and details
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Arvada, Colorado
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My surgery date is:
December 6, 2016
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I was diagnosed with:
Mitral Regurgitation
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My surgery was:
Mitral Valve Replacement
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My hospital is:
Rose Medical Center
