David's Profile

June 2017. It has been a ride. Late last summer I started to feel a bit out of breath on my daily walks. I casually mentioned this during my annual physical. After some non-heart causes were ruled out, I started on the cardiology track. A nuclear stress test/image, echos, a TEE determine I had moderate to severe mitral and aortic regurgitation. I was then scheduled for two-valve replacement surgery on Feb 26 However, when I had my Cath the week prior to surgery, the Cath doctor thought the dye backflow showed I may not need surgery. So my cardiologist discussed this with a number of other docs and recommended a 2nd opinion at Brigham and Women's. We went thru another round of testing, med changes to stabilize heart rhythm, and consultations. So now I am going to have a replacement and a repair on June 27 (long time away it feels). But I feel good about being in the hands of a world class hospital. I do feel more symptomatic as time goes on. PS. I am retired, have great wife and children. I feel at times just as healthy as when I was 25. Love my part time retirement job and activities. But am worried and scared about all this. PPS. It is spring 2020 and I realized I never updated my journal or story. In a few words here it is. Surgery went very well. I had an aortic bioprosthetic replacement, a mitral leaf repair/annuloplasty and a tricuspid annuloplasty. There was a PFO that was also closed while they were at it. Recovery and life afterwards have been great. Or in medical talk--"unremarkable", but I call everything associated with this procedure anything but! I did have a good amount of arrythmia subsequently, mostly bradycardia, but also afib and brief episodes of nsvt which resulted in a cardioversion, and recently a pacemaker being installed. But now I live a full life with no real restrictions. PPPS. A routine blood test show I have hemolytic anemia. Several tests then pinned it on a jet in my repaired MV that is now borderline severe. We tried thinking of other options but ended up SMVR.