Birthday Post

I saw my cardiologist last week. Everything is well and my PVCs have gone away. He wants to see me again in July for an echo, but if all looks well then I probably won' thave to return for several years.

PVCs & PACs

About a month ago I started noticing a lot of irregular beats, which I believed to be PVCs. I contacted my cardiologist and he prescribed a Holter monitor for 24 hours. The results showed PVCs and PACs but not enough of them to worry about. Happily, the irregular beats decreased recently. i still have some but everyone has somne, but far less than I had initially.

One Year Since My Heart Attack/Stroke

December 9, 2014: I was sitting downstairs enjoying my model train layout when I began to experience an ill feeling, chest discomfort, and vision disturbances. It was the beginning of my medical-surgical journey through three weeks of hospitalization, two open heart surgeries, and months of recovery. Today I am fortunate that my treatments were successful and I feel fully recovered. It's great to have a new lease on life!

Echo Report FOur Months Post-Surgery

What a great echo report!

Summary 1. Left ventricle: Size was normal. Systolic function was normal by visual assessment. Ejection fraction was estimated in the range of 55 % to 60 %. There were no regional wall motion abnormalities. There was mild concentric hypertrophy. Left ventricular diastolic function parameters were normal. 2. Aortic valve: A bioprosthesis was present. It exhibited normal function and normal motion. The leaflets appeared normal. There was a normal-appearing sewing ring and no rocking motion of the sewing ring. There was trivial aortic regurgitation. There was no significant perivalvular aortic regurgitation. Valve peak gradient was 12 mmHg. Valve mean gradient was 7 mmHg. The aortic valve obstructive index (by VTI) was 0.68. 3. Aorta, systemic arteries: The root exhibited mild dilatation, but represents proximal aortic graft after reconstruction of the proximal ascending aorta.

Surgical Evaluation

I was contacted by the marketing department of Temple University Hospital, where I had my surgery. They asked my surgeon if he could recommend one of his patients who they could interview about the experience, and perhaps even make a video. I agreed because I am so pleased with my surgical outcome and I have so much respect for my surgeon, Dr. Wheatley. He is a young and up and coming heart surgeon who is already an expert in his field. It will be my pleasure to give him my recommendation.

Cardiac Rehab

I attended 10 cardiac rehab sessions. I think they were useful for a couple of reasons. First, you are monitored with a running EKG in progress while you exercise. This is reassuring as you exercise and begin to test your exercise tolerance limits. Second, attending rehab gets you into a regular routine of cardiovascular exercise designed to improve your fitness level. This is particularly important for individuals who would not otherwise exercise. Since I already exercise daily, and the trek and expense to rehab was significant, I decided to withdraw from the program after 10 sessions. I do plan to resume workouts that elevate my heart rate into the target range for me. This will be in addition to my walking and my workouts with weights combined with stretching. It's important to keep active as we age to avoid the trap of becoming frail prematurely.

New TEE! (shirt, that is!)

The back says "Proud Member of the Zipper Club."