About Me (In My Own Words)
I was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse when my husband and I were living in the Seattle area in May of 2014. My PCP sent me for an echo cardiogram after discovering a significant heart murmur.I had not experienced any symptoms that would point to an issue with my heart, and so she said, "it's probably nothing to worry about" but "it's best to get it checked out anyway."
I remember the wave of fear that overcame me as I listened to the cardiologist's assessment of my heart. At that time, he indicated that I had severe regurgitation and felt I needed to begin the "work-ups" for surgery. My husband and I processed "the news" together. So many emotions: shock, fear, disbelief. When I returned for my next visit, another echo cardiogram was preformed and my cardiologist downgraded me to "moderate-severe" and told me surgery was still in my future but it could be anywhere from one to five years (of course no way to tell for sure). He continued to monitor me every six months. There were no significant changes until my last visit with him just before we moved to PA. June 3 he told me "it's time."
So, we transferred (military move) from WA to PA. I took some time to get the house in order and then scheduled an appointment with a new PCP who in turn wrote a referral to Pinnacle Cardiovascular Institute (a large practice here in the area). I was disappointed with the first cardiologist that we met with. He didn't seem to take my condition or "new" symptoms (shortness of breath) seriously. Nevertheless, he did go ahead and set me up for a stress test, TEE, and follow-up in October.
The TEE was done on August 19. It revealed that I do indeed have severe mitral regurgitation and I have a broken "parachute chord" that is flailing. The cardiologist that did the TEE indicated that my condition is very serious and we need to start discussing surgical options. I have a follow-up with him on September 4.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
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My surgery date is:
November 11, 2015
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I was diagnosed with:
Mitral Regurgitation
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My surgery was:
Mitral Valve Repair
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Rakesh Suri
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My hospital is:
Cleveland Clinic
