Cristen's Profile

I was born with what was believed to be a bicuspid aortic valve, first discovered by a heart murmur when I was 9 months old. Although my valve was measured with a severe stenosis, I was very fortunate to be relatively asymptomatic the first 20 years - I competed as a junior Olympic gymnast and wrapped up my athletic career in collegiate cheerleading (Go Bearcats). As my twenties came to an end, I realize in retrospect that I was often tired, short of breath, and overall "didn't feel well." A couple months after my 30th birthday I experienced an episode of feeling faint and immediately knew it was time to revisit a cardiologist. The standard echo showed my BAV with severe AS; however, an additional CT scan revealed an ascending aortic aneurysm with a diameter of 4.6 cm. After doing additional research of my own, I asked my Memphis-based cardiologist to refer me to the Cleveland Clinic - the #1 cardiovascular center in the U.S., which is also conveniently located 90 miles from my parents (God is good). It was during my surgery on December 18, 2014 that Dr. Eric Roselli learned that my valve was actually unicuspid. Instead of an entire biological valve replacement, the incredibly skilled Dr. Roselli replaced the partially diseased leaflet with porcine tissue, ultimately creating a healthy bicuspid valve. In essence, my stem cells could potentially grow to replace the porcine tissue, increasing the longevity of the valve and making it my very own - pretty phenomenal! A Dacron graft was used to replace the diseased tissue of the ascending aorta. I feel truly blessed for the surgical expertise of Dr. Roselli and his genuine compassion for his patients. Thank you Cleveland Clinic for EXCELLENT care!