Aortic Stenosis.

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Originally Posted by Flyoverland Captive

If any of you have been told you have a heart murmer but it's "nothing to worry about", get it checked out. I've had one since I was a little kid, and my doctors all shrugged it off. In my late forties I finally got a decent doc (Dr. Ho in Spokane, you rock!) who decided to dig further. Turns out I have a bicuspid aortic valve; it's congenital. I also have aortic dilation, which needs to be monitored to make sure the walls don't get too thin and possibly rupture. Now I see a cardiologist and get an echocardiogram yearly to monitor it.

I've been given the all-clear to run, ride, ski, etc., but was told that short, sharp activities (heavy lifting, etc.) are a no-go. Fine, I can live with that.

I was also told that I'll probably eventually need a new valve, and that the longer I wait, the better, because an artificial valve is what I'd get at this age, which means blood thinners, which is horrible. If I wait, I'll get a tissue valve, which means no thinners, and should last a couple decades.

Apparently, my condition is pretty common, and not a big deal as long as I get it checked out every year. I actually enjoy the echocardiogram; it's pretty cool to watch the screen.

If you've got a murmer, go see your doc; I cannot stress this enough.

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I would agree with this and I would bet there are a number of people on this site that have murmurs, mostly through athletic heart syndrome. It's quite common and mostly benign but any murmur should be verified for voracity. I have a murmur, too and had an echocardiogram 25 years ago to take a look at cause. I was told not to worry about it, it was an 'athletic murmur' and that I also have bradycardia (low pulse rate) and enlargement caused by my activities. I have annual physicals and the condition is the same now as it was 25 years ago. Still, I'm glad that it was diagnosed and I am also glad to have the annuals to keep me in check. Good advice, FLC.

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Originally Posted by Flyoverland Captive

I cannot stress this enough.

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Stress bad. Only dull activities for you.

So, after seeing my cardiologist, and several more tests, I'm going in for the Angiogram?(sp) later this month. It's to deem if I have more issues, as I have high pressures in the left ventricle as well. Apparently common, who knew? My daughter was born with this same problem, plus a rock hard left ventricle. Transplanted at 14months old at Toronto's Children's Hospital. Looks like me teasing the wife that her won't is poisoned has come back to haunt me[emoji55] As was mentioned earlier, get checked on a regular basis. If I had, this might have been diagnosed early, not that it can be treated by anything but surgery. I was raised to ignore pain, and that only pussies went to the doc for anything besides amputation, or childbirth. Smart.

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They're gonna fix you man. Hang in there. Keep on truckin and don't look back, fuck regrets at this point.

Your daughter had a heart transplant? Did I understand that right?

If you have aortic stenosis you should have high left ventricular pressures. It’s the heart working against a fixed outflow obstruction.


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Originally Posted by iceman

They're gonna fix you man. Hang in there. Keep on truckin and don't look back, fuck regrets at this point.

Your daughter had a heart transplant? Did I understand that right?

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Ya, we brought her home from the hospital in '98, great pregnancy, quick delivery. 2 days old, laboured breathing while my wife slept, I just happened to be walking by the couch, noticed she was in distress. While racing up to the hospital, she stopped breathing.. it was insane. In any case, she's 20 years old, healthy as an ox. We're going to have matching scars! On a more serious note, it's hit my wife and kids pretty hard. Shit happens.

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That's incredible about your daughter, nice job saving her life! Does she have to take anti-rejection meds or was she young enough that somehow she adapted? Just curious.

It kinda sucks that you have to be the strong when for your family through this, when you're the one they'll be cutting on, but that's just the way it is when people care a lot, they're scared to lose you. Well they're not gonna lose you over this so give 'em a hug and tell 'em you understand and now they need to cheer the fuck up. Or something along those lines, you can improvise.

Best of luck and we'll all be fruiting for you.

And for those who say bloodthinners are the anti christ, I've been on them for five years now and seriously don't even notice them. Yeah, I'm more careful and the like but it's not like they're an inconvenience nor death sentence.

Thanks and thanks. I know everything will pan out, but I'm a drama queen(or fruit) What's life if it doesn't have a plot twist or two? My ski buddy is feeling sorry for me, so he's paying for the gas and beers in our fishing trip tomorrow. Winning!

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And yes, my daughter will be taking anti rejection meds forever. We're seeing some long term issues now, but the alternative is pretty dire. She's awesome.

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Just to follow up on the posts from August. After several more tests, and an angiogram, it turns out that I have a bicuspid valve that has stenosis. As a bonus, it turns out that my left ventricle is significantly thickened, so to avoid more damage, they're bumping me from 10-12 week wait to getting surgery on Tuesday. We decided on an open heart procedure with a biological valve, as my cardiologist and surgeon feel that it's going to give me the best results. So, that's about it. I'll get some gnarly scars, constipation, and a pass on housework for a bit. Thanks for all the advice and well wishes. Cheerio

Best wishes.

Hope your procedure goes well and rehab is uneventful.

Give'r.

Check in here afterwards when you can, I mean don't worry about it in the operating room, when you're in recovery will be fine.

Hang in there man it's gonna be better soon.

Ya Mean!! You’ll be on it in no time. Speedy recovery

Good luck, dude!

Chicks dig scars. Good luck.

Best of luck!


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Good luck! Be well, man.

+1 to all the above.

Damn, good luck!

Godspeed; here's to a speedy recovery!