On July 15th, I had open heart surgery to repair mitral valve prolapse (MVP). I also checked back into the hospital for a cardiac ablation to correct some tachycardia two weeks later. Enough of my friends have known about this that I've gathered some FAQs:
Did you know you were going to have surgery? Yes, I've known for a couple years that surgery was on the near horizon and it was scheduled a few months ago. My MVP has been being monitored by cardiologists for about twenty years. The ablation was a surprise. I had reached my out of pocket max for the year, so why not have some electrical work done in addition to the plumbing?
How was this diagnosed? About twenty years ago, my primary care physician heard a murmur through her stethoscope in a routine exam and referred me to cardiology. At first, the regurgitation from the valve was minor, but it progressed over the years. Get your regular checkups, people!
What causes mitral valve prolapse? Nobody knows! Part of my surgery prep was signing forms allowing the tiny bit of tissue removed from my valve through surgery to be used for research. Rheumatic fever can cause mitral valve issues (think Mrs. Smith in the novel Persuasion), but mine were non-rheumatic. A donation to the American Heart Association could fund researchers looking at a little piece of my heart! (queue Big Brother and the Holding Company)
Did you have symptoms? Not that I know of! I felt fine and very healthy, but imaging showed that it was time to fix the valve before it damaged my heart. Once I'm done healing, if I go back to feeling fine and very healthy, we'll know I was asymptomatic. If I end up feeling like a superhero, well, then I guess feeling merely fine and healthy was a symptom.
What about all that running you do? I was not only cleared, but encouraged, to continue training by my cardiologist. The running is probably the reason I was asymptomatic.
Do you have a super cool scar now? Not really. Rather than the traditional sternotomy, they were able to do my surgery via a "minimally invasive" entry point on the right side of my body. The main incision point is in my armpit and there are a few more scars around that one. There's also one at my groin where the heart and lung bypass machine accesses my heart and lungs. This method was pioneered by the Cleveland Clinic (where I had my surgery done) in the late 1990s.
How are you feeling? I'm not , but I'm feeling better week by week. I'm walking a few miles each day and doing cardiac rehab three times a week. I have a lot of scar tissue and nerve weirdness on the right side of my chest, but this is normal. I'll be walking with my new friends from Team Cardiac Rehab at the Heart Walk!
Can you have caffeine now? I'm still staying away from caffeine. My caffeine issues were more likely related to the tachycardia that needed the ablation rather than the MVP. I'm going to let my heart heal and then talk to my cardiologist and electrophysiologist about what my relationship to caffeine should be. (I'm hoping I can still use it as a recreational and performance enhancing drug.)
Are you going to keep running? I'm hoping to get back to running in the next few weeks. I'd like my first few jogs to be on the treadmill at cardiac rehab while being monitored to make sure everything behaves as expected.
