What Did the Cardiologist Report

So, I met with Dr. Brian Ip, Minnesota Heart at Fairview Southdale on July 28. Dr. Ip informed me that I did indeed have Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease and that I had a severe aortic valve stenosis. I had no idea I had this congenital condition until July 28, 2009 -- some 53+ years since I was born with it. Apparently it is very common for people to "discover" this condition in their 40s or 50s. I'm right on schedule. Typically, symptoms are pretty severe, and in my case, other than the fatigue I was largely asymptomatic.

Dr. Ip continued to explain my situation. Severe stenosis exists when the valve opening area is less then 1.0 mm square. My reading was estimated at 0.8 mm square. Normal is greater then 1.5 mm square. I wasn't getting a lot of blood through this important valve, the one between the left ventricle and the "alaska pipeline" feeding fresh, oxygenated blood to my body. No wonder I was so tired! Dr. Ip ordered a CT angiogram to verify the condition of the valve, the aortic root, and the aorta itself. This disease I had is a connective tissue disorder that often affects the valve, the root, and the ascending aorta. Sometimes it even involves the aortic arch. The angiogram confirmed the valve was badly calcified, the ascending aorta was bulging and I was going to need a valve job and relatively quickly at that. I made sure to get a copy of every piece of information about my condition right away so I could use it to consult with a surgeon, as soon as we found one.

Now the big question was who would we find to do the work, where would we go, and when would we be going there? And, how would we start letting our family and friends know about what was facing us?

Jon