The incidence of normally functioning bicuspid aortic valves is 0.6% to 0.9%.5 . For many patients, I recommend no heavy lifting (>10 pounds) for the first month after conventional heart surgery. From afar, its hard to know what might be responsible for your symptoms. Is the biggest risk (from numbness) a over-calcified valve which would cause lack of blood flow? While she ended up being okay, she advised other women to be more cautious. At approximately three months I became very ill and was diagnosed with prosthetic valve endocarditis. He just turned 15 he is 511 203 lbs and has a heart of gold. O'Donell took the aspirin recommended for people who think they are suffering a heart attack just in case, but didnt call 911. 2. Bicuspid aortic valve is the most common congenital cardiovascular anomaly, occurring in 1-2% of the population. In general, the larger (in diameter) the substitute valve is, the less aortic stenosis it will produce. Today at my hospital, we do most 1st time aortic valve replacements for aortic stenosis (narrowing) this way and have started using TAVR for patients with previous AVR using tissue valves who need re-replacement. The actress, 44, found out she had a leaky valve in 2002. I am riding my 3 rd anual Belgian Waffle Ride today. So far, none of the people that had the operation suffered any dissection. My son will be 16 next month. Also hypertension in both arms. Thank you for what you do and for your responsiveness. Your web site and the links have much good information. They are located between the atria and corresponding ventricle. What have I observed and learned in the quarter century since? i.e. But, three heart valve surgeries! Dear Dr Creswell you seem to be such a kind cardiac surgeon to make yourself available in answering questions. At the age of 12, she had a procedure to widen her valve as her heart condition continued to have an impact. In the process of how I had the slow waltz with MG UNTIL DIAGnosed, will be ready in 3 weeks. I feel like 95% of other people my doc sees are just happy to get back to their normal life which doesnt include pushing their bodies to extreme limits. Regarding activity restrictions, you would do best to rely on the advice of your sons doctor(s) who will be in the best position to know the relevant specifics. Ive starting going to the gym again and doing cardio with weights to tone up. This have affected my son psychologically since he loves playing soccer what should I do. What are my chances of being able to go back to marathon running after surgery? Athletes should have detailed discussion with their doctors about any prudent limitations to exercise after operation and settle on a mutually agreeable plan. To make matters worse, I had a bout of AFIB, about 6 months ago. When patients have moderate to severe aortic regurgitation, exercise can often be difficult. Some cardiologists tell me that I can run up to 130 beats per minute ; others say theyd prefer I do power walking because pressure always rises while running. I get sporatic tingling in my left hand and footand every so often in my left cheek bone. In addition to running, I also perform moderate to high intensity resistance (weight) training 5-6 times per week. Thus far shes had only minor bruising (shes 6ft and has a solid build). mod-severe regurgitation There are four valves of the heart, which are divided into two categories: Atrioventricular valves: The tricuspid valve and mitral (bicuspid) valve. I have a call in to his doctor but what do you think? Diagnosed last year while looking at something else. The potential downside relates to durability. I am big for my age . Some information about myself: Im 28, 186 cm, 77 kg, max pulse 194, rest 50 bpm, live in Russia. The Ross procedure borrows your sons pulmonary valve and uses it to replace his aortic valve and aorta. As a consequence, these individuals develop earlier calcification of the valve leaflets, leading to narrowing, or stenosis. In your experience, can patients with BAV go a lifetime without having AVR? I have no proof this may be causing my less than stellar performance or if perhaps I should have more patience. Since my initial post i decided to call another pediatric cardiology hospital in our state, University of Michigan Pediatric Cardiology. How much exercise is too much for someone with a functional BAV? The HAART 200 is an innovative device that helps in the repair of BAV, allowing patients to avoid aortic valve replacement. Did you run? Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). My personal approach to endurance athletes in this situation would be to offer operation if the patient wanted to continue to participate in endurance sports (after operation) and was willing to assume the risks of operation. Eventually I will need valve replacement. Enlargement of the left ventricle can be an indication that the heart suffers from the aortic regurgitation, even if the regurgitation doesnt produce symptoms like shortness of breath. Im a 30 year old male who is currently living in Asia with family. I have completed two marathons. The lines are the edges of the valve leaflets that open and close to let blood through. I made appointment with my cardio, to clear that up, dont worry :). It will probably take a visit with a surgeon (who has all of the pertinent details) to outline the possibilities for you. I have been doing as much research as possible on what are the advantages/disadvantages of each replacement. I look forward to hearing from you. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) in conjunction with the American Heart Association (AHA) has issued guidelines for the evaluation, monitoring, and treatment of individuals with BAV: In my opinion, these are useful guidelines for athletes and non-athletes, alike. I was only diagnosed with BAV after a routine examination and only because my company has increased in size above a threshold at which all employees are supposed to be subjected to this examination (weird law in Belgium). The guidelines do not address the frequency of surveillance for individuals with BAV and no enlargement of the aorta. Jeff/Doc, In addition to this public search, we scanned our proprietary research database of over 1 million sources and were unable to find any specific research reports that address your goals. In March 2018 he underwent emergency surgery to have this replacement valve replaced. The problem is I have developed an aneurysm on my ascending aorta of 44mm. His story is typical. Miley Cyrus - Singer & Actress - Tachycardia. ODonnell, now 54, said her heart attack began after she helped an enormous woman struggling to get out of her car in a parking lot. I asked her about surgery. Get on with it. Frankly Im worrying quite a bit about thisand I feel like its causing additional chest pain and shoulder pain. This valve repair option is one that might best be pursued at a center that specializes in this problem. Call 911. This is the only measurement that has gone down . Benefits: long-term durability. I would think that, ordinarily, a homograft would heal up along a similar timeline to other types of valve/aortic root replacement. I got checked out by my GP who detected a murmur then had all the other heart related tests and was diagnosed with BAV with stenosis and regurgitation. This international evidence-based nomenclature and classification consensus document is intended for universal use by clinicians, imaging specialists . Many congenital heart defects cause few or no symptoms. Since I started running, I lost about 8 kg, my blood pressure decreased from 140/90 to 120/80-70. that suffer from heart valve disease along with a link to the reference story about their heart valve disease and their Twitter handle can be found below: ), the famous American television anchor, suffers from, ), the Olympic Gold Medalist (Soccer) suffered from, ), a comedian and broadcaster, suffers from a. Arrhythmias may sometimes manifest many years after surgical repair of congenital heart defects. The important considerations in athletes with BAV are the degree of regurgitation of the valve and the degree of enlargement of the aorta. That is to say, I did up until two months ago. The first pic showed the action and comedy legend in a supine position with a thumbs-up, while the next three featured a lovely autumn walk, taking in the sights. I had it replaced in 2014 and am now 16. An early indicator of BAV is a heart murmur, which is an abnormal sound caused by the turbulent . He has mild AS and AR and is otherwise asymptomatic. March 10, 2016 at 1:50 pm. There have been reports of lingering effects (decreased function of the left or right ventricles) for several days after marathon runs. But for those WITH such problems, we do recommend curtailing either static or dynamic activities, or both. I did cardio training 3 times a week and weight training twice a week for 60 years. Great to hear that youre doing cross country running. Sometimes my cardiologist says there is minimal change and he thinks my aorta had slightly enlarged by 1-2mm. My son is 16 years old and his story is very similar to many I read on your blog. If echo shows a normal size, thats probably okay. Only two cusps, commissures and sinuses are seen in the less common "pure" bicuspid aortic valve subtype. So my question: does there appear to be any performance advantage of tissue valves over mechanical or does the fact that Im on the anticoagulant anyway make the mechanical valve sort of a no brainer choice? For some reason I did not receive a notification of your reply, so apologies that I havent thanked you before. thanks for sharing all this interesting info. Reply. Or is the real risk related to further deterioration of the heart in the longer term that would be picked up by 6 monthly monitoring, which may indicate the need for surgery but not an immediate risk of dying suddenly? Would this have any affect on any of the results of the tests I have done (Echo, EKG, Chest Xray)? Even if its one person I help. How severe are the problems? (I'm a 17 year old female)After a heart echocardiogram yesterday we found out I have a bicuspid aortic valve, I originally went in to the cardiologist for extreme fatigue, constant racing heart (avg around 130bpm resting), palpitations, spells where I almost faint, feet swelling and turning purple, etc . Since he had to stop playing.. depression has set in. 2 Such features need to be considered before surgical intervention. I want to continue weightlifting .. what is your opinion about this ? I cant imagine life without CrossFit, but I wont be able to continue will I? Sadly, no crystal ball is available. In January 2021, she underwent open heart surgery to install an aortic valve. With aortic dissection, the aorta can develop a tear on its inside wall, leading to unraveling of its layers, and even rupture. On Aug 30, 2017 I passed out at the gym and subsequently airlifted due a large abscess and valve dehisence and underwent another operation and now have a homograft. I wouldnt be happy just running I want to be the best that I can be at it. Many heart conditions can be controlled or repaired once theyre diagnosed. This is such an interesting blog, I wish I had known of it sooner. I see Im not alone. I would defer to Dr. Dietz since youve already contacted him. He also has minimal leakage at the valve aorta. There has been a slight increase in the measurements over the last several years, but I am still below the threshold which would require surgical intervention. My son is 15 and has grown about 4-6 inches in the last year. My average weekly training plan includes 50k of running (5 days) with 80% done on pulse below 154-152 and only 20% done at pulse about 175-179 bpm. Perhaps the doctor could contact the specialist and request an earlier appointment, if that made sense. Im keeping my heart rate below 150, 160 at most but just for short period of time. Perhaps a cardiac surgeon would be able to provide even more detailed information about things like various options for operation that might be applicable in your case as well as thoughts about when operation should be performed. Here are some celebrities that experienced severe heart valve defects and had to have either heart valve replacement and heart valve repair surgery. Bicuspid aortic valve. The doc says the big risk is due to the blood thinners. Do medications like beta-blockers limit any potential harm? The notion is to reduce the number of cycles of heart beat x high blood pressure. We just dont know. Thanks for sharing an update. Down side: must take blood thinners to prevent blood clots from forming on mechanical valve.