Diastolic dysfunction

[Pjackson]

I am not sure where to post this question. I have been seeing a cardiologist for almost three years now for a leaky mitral valve. I get echoes every 6 months. He has rated the amount of regurgitation mild at rest, moderate to severe at exercise. He has said we need to watch it and if necessary I may need surgery to fix it, but that I don't need surgery yet. I was fine with that..it's something that can be fixed and everything else about my heart is described as normal. I can live with the thought of having valve surgery if it will fix the problem. So I have been fine psychologically dealing with my heart condition until recently. I had an MRI of my heart a month ago and the cardiologist noted that I have grade I (mild) diastolic dysfunction. I got to looking back through my past echo reports and found in amongst all the numbers and descriptions that in September 06 it was also noted that I had mild DD. My cardiologist has never mentioned this or discussed it with me before. I got to reading about DD and it doesn;t sound good. One article made it sound like I won't be around much likely after 5 years, another comment from a Cleveland Clinic doc sounded like grade I DD is not much worse than being normal. I don't know what to think, but I have a heavy cloud of fear over me that I am going to gradually deteriorate and die in a few years. You would think the fact that I can ride my bike 15 miles w/o any problem would ease my angst, but it doesn't. I'm flat scared :-(............. DO any of you out there have any experience with DD and can offer me with some reassurance?  Thanks. PJackson

[kevk]

I am still pretty active but I have had to slow down. I have to stop and rest a lot because of short of breath and heart rhythm problems.  Over all most people can`t believe what all I can do.  But I have learned my limits and try not to push it to much, I try not to make my ICD fire. I have not been shocked for over 13 years and I am still hiking the same hills  just a little slower.

[Pjackson]

Thanks for sharing. Just hearing what you have said has offered me some relief. I appreciate it very much. The description of some of these terms sound so forboding when you read them that a person can think they are toast. The discussion of DD on the Mayo Clinic website alone scarred the bejeezus out of me.

My primary symptoms can be summed up as fatigue and occasional, mild SOB at night. As I said I have a funky mitral valve which  can also cause the very same symptoms. And to top it off, I am tapering off a medication that may also be the cause of these symptoms as well. Its hard to sort out what's what. I tend to focus on the most scarry and think that' s it- I've had it.

Are you able to continue an active life? That's the one thing that scares me, I am an active guy and the thought of not being able to bike or hike or ski would be a hard pill to swallow.

Best wishes, PJackson

[kevk]

I have lived with moderate DD for twenty years from Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The symptoms I get are the same as CHF. If your symptoms are not to bad I would not worry to much. If you start having symptoms I would call your doctor.