Melissa Geiger - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

42 days ago

My usually very active 14 year old struggled to do an exercise test at school after a virus and antibiotics and was sent for an ECG, which "wasn't completely ...Read more

My usually very active 14 year old struggled to do an exercise test at school after a virus and antibiotics and was sent for an ECG, which "wasn't completely normal" and then an echocardiogram which showed some trival mitral regurgitation and mild aortic regurgitation but otherwise heart structurally fine. Given the exercise struggle (is legs basically collapsed under him and he had to lie down) the consultant at GOSH has said to come back in 3 weeks and do a stress echo .... googling everything has got me worried and wondered if anyone else had anything like this .... he said the stress echo was precautionary because of the event and to see what the aortic regurgitation was like when the heart was under pressure?? Up to this point I had what I thought was a fit and healthy child ... now I am constantly listening to his breathing and trying not to show I am worried. Anyone have any experience of this?

Yumiko Ishida Not sure if it's the same as what your son has, but I had a strange illness in 5th grade. Difficulty ... Read more

Yumiko Ishida Not sure if it's the same as what your son has, but I had a strange illness in 5th grade. Difficulty controlling my muscles, involuntary movements, weakness, etc, on my right side. I am right handed but had to write with my left hand for a period of time. Was very active like most kids until then, but was prevented from playing sports because everybody was afraid I will hurt myself. Had a bunch of tests done but there was no real diagnosis at the time. The illness eventually went away. 10+ years later I was diagnosed with mitral valve stenosis, and looking back, it seems that what I had in 5th grade was chorea. The stenosis was mild for 30+ years and it didn't prevent me from being active, but it does explain why my heart rate used to shoot up quickly when I exercised and took a long time to come down. It is my understanding that valve conditions caused my childhood infections tend to progressed slowly, especially if they start out mild. Hopefully that is the case for your son!

Susan Lynn My regurgitation was barely detectable when I was at rest, however, under exertion, it was much mor... Read more

Susan Lynn My regurgitation was barely detectable when I was at rest, however, under exertion, it was much more pronounced. I was always tall and thin, so I engaged in minimal amounts of strenuous activities - aka, couch potato. I likely would have known about the seriousness of my mitral valve sooner if I played sports. Don't anticipate what your son's stress echo results will be. Take it one day at a time. You'll deal with whatever is ahead if and when you have to. I wish you both the best!