About Me (In My Own Words)
Diagnosed with Mild Mitral Valve Regurgitation in 2016 but was apparently dismissed by my doctors at that time. With a new cardiologist in 2021 i gave him the Echo report from 2016 and he ordered an Echo that was reported as “moderate”. I had a follow up Echo in 2022 that was moderate to severe…so one would think it was progressing. In 2023 after some symptoms of fatigue an Echo TEE was done and it reported that MVR was now “Mild to moderate”…WTF is going on. In 2024 i started with shortness of breath on my bike rides that worked its way into my daily lawn chores. … another Echo and MVR “mild to moderate”, Moderately dilated left atrium, mild left ventricle wall thickening, left ventricle dysfunction. Cardiologist wants to rule out non heart problems…CT lungs indicated no blood clots and otherwise normal. Pulmonary tests were normal. Blood tests were normal. I pushed for and had a Stress Echo and once again results were inconclusive.
So yes it is safe to say that i am frustrated knowing that i have MVR with symptoms, and heart changes mentioned above. I recently met with cardiologist and he offered two choices…Heart Catheterization and Echo TEE or a referral to a Medical Center. I chose option #2 and will be headed to Duke Cardiology in early July…i don’t know if this is considered a 2nd opinion …no matter, we are interested in one thing from this upcoming visit…something factually conclusive, or a diagnosis, or a recommendation for treatment. I have to be confident that this won’t be just another inconclusive step in a long process.
After six months of diagnostics (heart and other) my Cardiologist referred me to Duke Medical where i had a complex diagnostic where a Right Heart Cath was done. While that was going on an Echo was going on as well as pulmonary tests…all while I was pedaling a device hanging over my feet. There were 7 “medical” in the Cath Lab including 2 doctors, Echo Tech, Pulmonary Specialists. They determined that my lower heart was beating when it should have been resting and they felt it was non heart triggered. I had a “liver scan” that showed that my liver, pancreas, and right kidney all appeared to be normal….so there has been some good news but some heart issues remain and once again looking for what external triggers may be doing this. I am not considered to be a candidate for Mitral Valve surgery because MVR level well below what would be required for surgery.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Greenville, SC
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I was diagnosed with:
Mitral Regurgitation
