About Me (In My Own Words)
Hi, I’m 35 years old, and I have Severe Mitral Stenosis with no symptoms. In 2001 while I was away in College, I started having heart palpitations. My PCP referred me to a see a Cardiologist and after some medical tests, I was diagnosed with MVP. Doctor said it was mild and all I needed to do was take antibiotics before any dental procedures. In the year 2004 I got married and had my first Child, didn't have any problems whatsoever. Then I became pregnant with my second & last child almost right away. One day I went to work and while I was at work I started experiencing a sharp needle pain on my chest. Right away I called my Doctor, had to leave work and ended up with the Cardiologist. They performed an Echocardiogram, and the noticed my heart condition changed from mild to severe. I guess the second pregnancy put a lot stress in my body. I was only 3 months pregnant and it was hard to breath, it was so scary. Right away they referred me to see Dr. Jose Meller, he is a Cardiologist located on Park Ave in New York City. Dr. Meller was such a blessing to me, very knowledgeable and with a lot of experience. He is affiliated with Mount Sinai Hospital where he referred me to do a Valvuloplasty. In a Valvuloplasty, the doctor inserts a very small, narrow, hollow tube (catheter) into a blood vessel in the groin and advances it through the aorta into the heart. Once the catheter reaches the stiff valve, the doctor inflates a large balloon at the tip of the catheter until the flaps (leaflets) of the valve are pushed opened. Once the valve has been opened, the doctor deflates the balloon and removes the catheter. While they were performing the procedure, I was awake listening and watching everything, it was very scary. They couldn't put me under anesthesia because of the baby. I had about 20 Medical staff in the room with me, some monitoring the baby, some were monitoring me and the other ones were doing the procedure. It was kind of scary. The medical staff at Mount Sinai was great, awesome, excellent. I'm so glad and grateful that the procedure was done there. Even though it was scary, they made it easy, they knew exactly what they were doing. They wow me with their expertise. Mount Sinai is a great Hospital and they have excellent and knowledgeable Doctors. After the procedure they told me that sometime in the future maybe 10 years from that time, I was probably going to need open heart surgery to replace the valve. Almost 12 years have gone by. For the past 11 years, I saw my cardiologist on Long Island every six months for check ups, Echocardiogram every year, but for the last 3 years they performed an Echo every six months and also blood work. In October, 2017 I went to see my Cardiologist for a routine check-up and noticed it was time. Right away I thought of Mount Sinai Hospital, I didn’t want any other hospital to perform surgery on me except at Mount Sinai. That’s when I met Dr. David Adams and Dr. Anyanwu, I’m so lucky and grateful that they are going to perform the repair. They both are excellent Doctors.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Bay Shore, New York
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My surgery date is:
January 29, 2018
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I was diagnosed with:
Mitral Stenosis
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My surgery was:
Mitral Valve Repair
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My surgeon is:
Dr. David Adams
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