Michael's Profile

I was diagnosed with a bicuspid valve in my twenties and also had scarlet fever as a child. I've been very active my entire life without incident, and had normal EKG's and stress tests. At 65, the stress test began to indicate that more frequent testing was appropriate, and, fast forward, as I approach my 70th birthday, I'll be having an aortic valve replacement at Northwestern by Dr. Malaisrie and his team. To date, I remain quite active, and am largely asymptomatic. Another valve patient steered me to this website, and I'm quite grateful for that: reading about the procedure is helpful, and reading others' experiences is even more so - more human, and "of the heart". I struggle with giving up control, and this is the essence of this experience, at least to me and at this juncture. More to follow, and thank you. Michael