After Open Heart Surgery:Lingering Questions

To recap and update previous posts in this series,I am a patient with heart valve disease.Having had my mitral valve surgically repaired during open heart surgery in May,2011,perhaps that would be it,I thought.They did a good sewing job.I might be cured.Now,two and a half years later,that is clearly not the case.The disease process is still at work.There is residual mild to moderate blood leakage backward across the valve,a condition called mitral valve regurgitation.What is more,something new has gone wrong.The valve leaflets have stiffened,narrowing the valve opening and impeding blood flow.This is called mitral valve stenosis,and went from being mild to moderate over the course of a year.My upper left heart chamber,the left atrium,is moderately dilated,or enlarged,from the resulting pressure build-up.So I present with moderately abnormal heart function.
Complications of severe stenosis can be life threatening,including blood clots;atrial fibrillation;congestive heart failure;pulmonary edema;and pulmonary hypertension.That's the scary part.
So far,the situation is manageable with my current medication of an ACE inhibitor;a beta blocker;and an anticoagulant-baby aspirin.We are following a course of medication and monitoring.Should things worsen further from moderate to severe,other options are available.Sometimes a balloon valvuloplasty is performed,in which a balloon is attached to a catheter and threaded up to the valve through a blood vessel in an arm or leg.There,it is inflated to widen the valve.This may not be appropriate in my case,however,since I have regurgitation as well as stenosis.
A second option for relieving stenosis is a surgical repair such as scraping any calcification from the valve leaflets,thus restoring flexibility.In the end,most stenosis patients requiring surgery undergo a valve replacement,either with a natural or mechanical valve.
Even as I'm writing this,I'm having an optical migraine-a slight visual disturbance I have experienced since my surgery.It's like a shooting star across the visual field,but it doesn't hurt,thank God.My chest scar is barely visible any more-just a little red streak at the base.There is also a strand of wire embedded in my chest,and I swear it stings a bit to this day.
When I first read about the stenosis progression in my test reports,I got depressed for about an hour.Then my resilience kicked in and I am accepting things as they are.At least there are concrete steps we can take if things get really bad.It's not getting off scot-free,but it's better than having no options.
What causes heart valve disease?It's not caused by lifestyle,but rheumatic fever,a complication of strep throat,is a major cause of heart valve damage that may take years to manifest.Another possible cause is a congenital defect that,again,could take years to become apparent.Calcium deposits accumulating on the valve with age may also be at work.There are other rare causes such as side effects of radiation therapy or certain medications.
Your basline health does have a great impact on how you weather any treatment required,so clean living is highly recommended for these patients.










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After Open Heart Surgery:The Road Widens Out

Eighteen months after a signature event of my life,the surgical stopping of my heart so a valve repair could be made,the road is widening out.Although the facts of what occurred are permanently emblazoned on my soul,we have reached a medical plateau.There is no longer any need to intensively monitor my progress.I have joined the ranks of the majority of valve repair patients.Now only a yearly assessment of my heart's inner workings is required.
Things have gotten so quiet in there,there are quite frankly better things for my medical team to do with their time,patients who are much sicker than I for them to attend to.That being said,there are still a few reminders of what happened to me.Of course my daily medication regimen is one of them.I am permanently attached to the pharmacy now.A lot of the success may be attributed to the stress that has been relieved by these cardiovascular drugs.My blood vessels are widened to the point where my heart doesn't have to work very hard to pump blood.This helps facilitate the longevity of the valve repair.
Externally,the extensive chest scars are all but invisible now.I can still feel a stinging sensation every day,though,from the wire permanently embedded in my chest.This wire held my sternum together while it healed from being split during surgery.
There are also occasional optical migraines in the form of mild visual disturbances.These have the appearance of meteorites.How appropriate,since the entire experience of major surgery made me feel like an astronaut.It was truly a strange new frontier for me.
Emotionally,there is a freaking out process when the evaluation approaches.You may have to stay in hospital if they find something weird going on in there.Take your scripture with you just in case.
My heart had started to enlarge.I was on the narrow road to heart failure.Now I am on a wide path-for how long I cannot say,but it certainly is more refreshing.