Leonardo's Profile

I had an infection ten years ago that damaged my aortic valve. At that time I had a replacement with a tissue valve. I found out in August 2023 from a yearly echocardiogram that the valve was failing. The cardiologist asked to see me again in December for a repeat echo. I didn't have symptoms at that time. In November 2023, I started to have some fatigue and shortness of breath. I went to the cardiology appointment in December and was referred to Dr. Davies for a surgery consult. I saw Dr. Davies in January 2024 and he recommended open heart surgery to replace the tissue valve with a mechanical valve. I went to several appointments in January different test like a CT scan, another echo, lots of lab work. I was then scheduled for a heart cath and TEE on February 8th, 2024. After that procedure, I thought I would have surgery pretty quickly because I was starting to feel a lot worse and retaining fluid. I hit a few set backs with getting authorization for the surgery and they wouldn't schedule it until all that paperwork was finalized. I got all that straight and now my surgery is scheduled for March 20th. I'm having a lot of uncomfortable symptoms like abdominal fullness and shortness of breath. My cardiologist started me on Lasix to help and I recently had to increase the dose. I'm so ready for this surgery and to start feeling better!