About Me (In My Own Words)
Facebook will send you those "On This Day" memories. I used to post photos of my treadmill distances run. I was routinely putting seven miles down every other day. It was not so very long ago. Now I cannot sustain a quarter mile jog without having to dial down the speed and walk. It feels like my lungs won't open.
I'd first guessed that a more sedentary routine the last year had pushed me out of shape. Occasionally I could push 2-3 miles. The day following those runs, I felt a kind of deepened fatigue, like I'd consumed half a bottle of Nyquil, that no dosage of caffeine could not rescue me from.
Not exercising made no difference. I was beginning to feel winded all of the time, from the most seemingly trivial of movements. I could get a full night of sleep, and trudge through the following day as though I'd been up all night. The first sensation I had when waking up was a pinched feeling in my chest. There have been other troublesome symptoms too, all of them on the checklist in fact, swollen feet thus far being the only absent symptom.. Most recently, I've noticed red spots on my hands (rash, irritation).
I did have one other heart issue prior to this. Back in 2011, after a few scary incidents of heart rate spiking over 200 beats a minute, I had a catheter ablation performed to eradicate the cells that were causing the problem. I would not rate as a good moment the day they put adenosine in my IV and stopped my heart in order to reset it to a resting rhythm. Between 2011 and 2013, I exercised with regularity and approached the best endurance I'd had in years.
Last fall, I visited my doctor to report my troubles. She heard a heart murmur and referred me to a cardiologist. At the time of my visit, I was dealing with major lethargy, constant fatigue, chest tightness, benign hypertension, weight gain, dizziness and unable to sustain much in the way of physical exercise.
I had an echocardiogram (10/15, 11/9), transesophogeal echocardiogram (11/30), angiogram (12/4) cardiac MRI (12/29), stress echo (1/19), pulmonary function tests (March),3D echocardiogram and stress echo (4/7). All of the results were consistent with the initial surface echo - moderate to severe mitral valve regurgitation. After a brisk walk on the treadmill to reach the heart rate they needed to take stress echo images, I was hyperventilating on the table....from walking. Due to my age (45), and the eccentric trajectory of my leak, they wanted to be very thorough. I am appreciative.
After the final transesophogeal/stress test combo on April 7th, my cardiologist said 'we can offer you this surgery now.' I am glad I changed my mind not to wait until the summer ended. In the preceding months, I'd been informed twice that approval from the valve committee was all but a formality, to then be told they wanted more tests. This is not a complaint, rather merely acknowledging a difficult emotional adjustment from mentally preparing for the surgery to then be told...'wait'.
I will not know until I emerge from surgery whether I have had a repair or a replacement. They will attempt repair but will not settle for anything less than optimal that would promise a return trip to surgery. Certainly, I am hopeful for the former (repair). I have felt as calm as can maybe be expected, knowing I'm in excellent hands. They are good listeners and make you feel like your time and concern is meaningful to them, because it is.
My wife has a client that went through the same operation and she's been of invaluable help to us, helping prepare for the best recovery outcomes. I have read Adam Pick's "The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery" a few times now. I am grateful for all my symptoms. I imagine it would be a very difficult thing to accept were I asymptomatic.
I am looking forward to the rest of my life. And feeling the euphoria of a long run. And regrowing my beard.
Cheers.
Rob
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
-
I am from:
Aurora
-
My surgery date is:
June 7, 2016
-
I was diagnosed with:
Mitral Regurgitation
-
My surgery was:
Mitral Valve Replacement
Mitral Valve Repair
-
My surgeon is:
Dr. Todd Guynn
