Christi's Profile

I was diagnosed with Aortic Stenosis and a Bicuspid valve almost 6 years ago. It was just a few short months after losing my 18 year old son to cancer and I seriously must not have even had the bandwidth to worry about it because I don't even think I looked it up. My doctor must have told me it was not a problem and he would just watch it because I basically forgot about it. Last month (June 2019) I was at the doctor for an annual check up and he mentioned my murmur. Again, not a big concern, but said that we should look at it again with another ultrasound just to see what it was doing. Days after the ultrasound I received a call from the cardiology office where the ultrasound was performed and was asked to come in "soon" and given an appointment for a follow up just 4 days later. Apparently, my Aortic Stenosis was now severe and I needed to have a heart valve replacement (kind of a shock since this was "not a problem"). We talked briefly about TAVR vs open heart surgeries and I was told that there are different types of valves in use today. After getting home and doing a quick search on AS I was surprised to see the severity of the diagnosis and prognosis without valve replacement. I was scheduled for a Cardiac Cath in 13 days and told that my valve replacement would be scheduled after that was complete. This week I had the Cardiac Cath. It went fine and there are no obstructions or issues with my heart other than the need for a new valve. I was told that I am not a candidate for a TAVR based on my age. My surgery has been scheduled for 7 days from today. I won't meet my surgeon or get more information about the procedure, type of valve, recovery, etc. until the day before the surgery.