Heartbreaker
2005-09-16

Well, I'm not going to croak. Well, at least not from my heart... today. That's the good news. The bad? I have a congenital bicuspid aortic valve with fusion of the commissure normally seperating the left and right coronary arteries with a vestigal raphe. This is creating moderate aortic insufficiency and some aortic root dilation. Impressive huh? I never knew I had it in me.
So what does all that medical mumbo jumbo mean? Well, normal hearts have valves made up of three flaps. For some reason, My aortic valve only has two. That's the bicuspid part. I was born with it which is the congenital part. This problem causes blood to leak back into my heart, hence the aortic inefficency. Simple huh? They have no idea what causes this BTW. It is pretty rare, but not uncommon.
So what does this mean? Well, if I had known how to play the piano, I still would be able to. And I really don't have any physical restrictions of any kind. I'm more suseptable to heart valve infections and will need to take antibiotics before I do stuff like go to the dentist. Eventually the valve will deteriorate and might have to be replaced, but it is more likely I'll croak from other causes before that is necessary, say 20 years from now or so.
It's left me with a kind of uneasyness. I've obviously had this since birth, but now that I know, it is somehow worse. I need to keep an eye out for swollen ankles and shortness of breath. Hell, I've had that all my life and it never worried me. Now, I'm going to wonder you know... I almost wish I had never found out. But I have.
I'm now on the echocardiogram schedule every two years whether I need it or not. Add this to my lower scope schedule of every three years (my dad died of colon cancer at 49) and I'll be getting poked and prodded way more than I'd like.
I guess it is good to know I'm reasonably healthy and won't be going any where soon. Thank god for small blessings.
Happy Friday.
Ron

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