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Eastern NE KS | Had my mitral valve fixed 4 years ago. I'll share some vocabulary with you.
Murmur - unusual noise from the heart. My murmur was from blood regurgitating.
Regurgitation - blood leaking backwards thru a valve.
Repair - my valve was repaired by trimming the leaflets and adding a supporting ring.
Replace - if the valve cannot be repaired it will need replacement. My options were cow/pig or artificial. One may fail over time and force a second surgery; the other requires blood thinner for the rest of the patient life. I was asked to choose a replacement valve before my surgery. I don't recall my choice.
EKG - a machine that uses waves to bounce off internal structures and blood. It uses the doppler effect to 'see' blood flow and it's direction of flow. The picture is a bit like the weather radar pictures.
Electrocardiogram - a technology to check the electrical system making the heart beat.
Heart disease - I think this is general label for most abnormal heart conditions. I was surprised that my weak valve was fixed but I still have heart disease.
One chamber of my heart worked overly hard to compensate for the backflow. That chamber grew bigger and will stay larger than normal hence heart disease.
Rate of backflow/regurgitation: minor/minimal - my first visit to cardiologist. He said see you next year.
2nd visit, it was called moderate backflow. And how quickly can we get this fixed?
My cardiologist had me see my dentist for a cleaning and exam. They wanted to ensure no oral infection migrating to my weakened heart.
I did NOT want to get fixed but that attitude changed when the doc said I had 12-18 months to live without surgery, then death.
I too had robotic assisted surgery. Was told recovery from split sternum or robotic was about the same. However, I was a little slow. Low energy and/or tired was my condition post surgery from Sept to February. Doing chores and wearing heavy clothes made me rest midday. Something happened Feb 5, 2021. My weak or tired body flipped a switch and was healed. Cardiologist doesn't know what to say about that. My post surgery heart checkups have stretched to 18 months. EKG says the chamber is still big but the valve does not leak!
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Heart valve
