Bob's Profile

I am from Fort Collins, Co and as you can see from my picture, I enjoy fly fishing. I have been diagnosed with a murmur over the past 10 years. I have dealt with it but watched it through my Doctors. About 3 years ago Dr Lopez recommended that I need to see a cardiologist, so began visiting Dr Stolts. I typically get an Echo completed every year and this years echo showed a narrowing of the aeorta. I had also showed signs of chest pains and shortness of breath, so it is time to do something about it. I had my recent echo on Tuesday 1/27 with Dr Strote and he confirmed it is time to do something about it. I had a ct scan on Thursday 1/29. That afternoon I spoke with Dr Luis Castro from Sequoia hospital in Redwood City. I have been very impressed with his experience, openness and communication. The additional reason I am considering Dr Castro is that most of my family is in that area and will offer the support through this process. I also met with Dr Mark Guardinoli at the Medical Center of the Rockies. Dr Guardinoli was very informative and easy to talk to as well. After reviewing options with both I have decided to go with Dr Castro. The next step in this process is to determine which type of valve I will need. Do I go with a tissue valve that will need to be replaced in 10 to 15 years or go with a mechanical valve where I will have to be on Coumadin for the rest of my life to thin my blood, preventing blood clotting and strokes? I guess that is my research over this next week. 2/9/2015 Meeting with Dr Castro tomorrow for preop and to determine which valve we will go with. Drove by the Hospital today and it looks very nice, eager to see inside tomorrow.