Kim's Profile

In November of 2015 I was diagnosed with an Aortic Bicuspid Valve with mild leakage and Aortic ascending Aneurysm (4.6). At first they were going to do surgery but decided to wait as long as possible to give the existing valve a few more years. They last 3 years have consisted of many visits and tests...as I’m sure all of you fellow heart valve patients know! I knew recently that things had changed for the worse with many symptoms, even though I was still trying to get my 10,000 steps in many days since I felt much better when I did! At the end of August an echocardiogram showed severe valve regurgitation and the aneurysm is now at 5.2. That is especially significant because I am only 4’8” and about 100lbs. At that point my cardiologist, surgeon and I all knew it was time to start talking surgery. When meeting with my surgeon, I asked him about the new Edwards INSPIRIS RESILIA just fda approved a few months ago after learning about it on this website! He plans on using the new valve if it looks like it is the best choice during surgery. I will be the first person at Spectrum to receive this new valve, and my surgeon is pretty excited about it also. He said an Edwards representative might even be there the day of surgery. Thank you Adam for bringing us the newest medical information and creating a place for all of to communicate!