Once a Year

I went in for my yearly Cardiologist appt. today to talk to him about my Mitral Valve Prolapse(MVP). It is a genetic condition where your Mitral Valve in your heart never officially closes. So my body has to work a lot harder than everyone else which has often made me more tired. My Dr. Was happy my EKG came back perfect and he's happy how much I'm walking my dog. My Echo's in the office look good, but he's making me check the blood flow with a TEE which are suppose to be done every 5 years. I've been putting off the TEE (Echo) because they have to put me out and I don't do so well on Anesthestics. We both agreed on March. The last one I had was in Columbus, Ohio in 2006 so I guess I'm due. He's in a tough spot because he has to decide when is the right time for me to go into surgery to replace my leaking valve. They have to open you up down the center sternum to get to it & it's a while for recovery. The clip has proven to not work in place of surgery so I definitely will have to have surgery. He's thinking in the next 4-6 years when I'm active & healthy. Only problem is how do you put your life on hold? I figured I would come to this point eventually when they discovered I had it at age 10. There is a doctor in Chicago trying to use robotic arms & going through the Thoracic area by the side under your armpit by removing a rib but that doesn't sound fun either. And it hasn't always worked so sometimes the old fashion method works the best. Either way Grandma Schueffner died from this so I definitely will do something. I'm glad I have an awesome Dr. that is continually talking to me about being proactive rather than reactive so that we can come to a good conclusion when the time is right. If you want to read more information you can google Cardiosmart. I learned a lot about MVP when I did my Science Fair Project on it in 8th grade. Ever since then I've been fascinated by with it. I just hope mine can keep chugging. I'll try to stay active & healthy since that will help. Ironically, it's more commonly found in tall, slender women.