Mark's Profile

I was diagnosed with moderate to sever aortic stenosis about 18 months ago. At that time I also found out I had a bicuspid valve. In the last 18 months I've had three echo's and two stress tests and last the last two months a CT scan and a TEE. I'm told I need surgery soon but I have to go through all these tests first. When I had the TEE test I was told that would definitely tell the surgeon if my stenosis was critical or not. Well 95% of the time it does but just my luck it was inconclusive. Apparently all the calcification buildup around the valve made it very cloudy and they couldn't get good pictures. Thank god for good insurance because that test cost over $7K. I still had to pay hundreds in out of pocket expenses. Next test is an MRI on November 6th. Even though I am asymptomatic in a weird way I just want to get this surgery scheduled and over with. I know I'm going to have to have it so why wait until I have symptoms. I hate this feeling of this black cloud over my head all the time. I love this website and am so glad to read the stories of others that are going through the same thing. We're not alone!