Aaron's Profile

My story started about 30 years ago... during a routine high school sports physical. The doctor examining me commented, "Think I'm picking up on a little heart murmur." And I asked, "What do I do with that?" To which he said, "Nothing - you're 17. Go play." And so I did. After graduating college, I moved to the Chicago area. My first appointment with my (and still) primary care physician, within seconds of him putting a stethoscope to my chest, he said, "I think you have a bicuspid aortic valve." Sure enough, meeting with my cardiologist confirmed just that. For the last 20 years, we've managed through lifestyle and medication, staying in front. But at the beginning of 2025 we reached that fork in the road that we all know will come. In my case, my left ventricle had dilated to the point where if I didn't have the aortic valve addressed, I could get beyond the point where the ventricle can heal itself naturely. Which led me to first seeking a second opinion from the wonderful people at Northwestern Medicine's Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute and then, in mid-September 2025, having the Ross Procedure performed at Northwestern to put me on the course to a great next chapters of life.