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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
am i going crazy?
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
am i going crazy?
by greg__0, Jul 15, 1998 12:00AM
First of all thank you for answering my other 2 posts. You have been very
helpful.
I will describe myself again to you. I am a 43 year old male with mitral
prolapse/regurgitation. I have known of the prolapse since I was 22 or so.
My doctor has now said the valve is leaking worse now and should be
repaired. I have NO symptoms such as fatigue, chest pains, irregular
heartbeat, cough,shortness of breath etc. Matter of fact I run on a
treadmill for 45 minutes a day and feel great afterwards.
Since my doctor has told me i need this operation. I am a basket case.I
cry alot, I am scared to death of the operation, I have all these thoughts
of never seeing my family again. Everyone tries to console me but it
doesnt seem to help. I have read a tremendous amount about the operation.
I know of the tests that are to be done. We even have a friend (Joanne)
who is in your hospital right now recovering from valve surgery that you
did on Thursday. I have spoken to her and she assures me it's ok. AM I
overreacting? how do I deal with this. I think about this every moment
of every day. I cant sleep very well either. AM i having a normal reaction?
I have started taking buspar to try to calm me down. It helps a little.I
dont want to take anything stronger as I do have to work and support my
family. How dangerous of an operation is this?
Im sorry to ask you so many questions... but im a nervous wreck over this
Greg
helpful.
I will describe myself again to you. I am a 43 year old male with mitral
prolapse/regurgitation. I have known of the prolapse since I was 22 or so.
My doctor has now said the valve is leaking worse now and should be
repaired. I have NO symptoms such as fatigue, chest pains, irregular
heartbeat, cough,shortness of breath etc. Matter of fact I run on a
treadmill for 45 minutes a day and feel great afterwards.
Since my doctor has told me i need this operation. I am a basket case.I
cry alot, I am scared to death of the operation, I have all these thoughts
of never seeing my family again. Everyone tries to console me but it
doesnt seem to help. I have read a tremendous amount about the operation.
I know of the tests that are to be done. We even have a friend (Joanne)
who is in your hospital right now recovering from valve surgery that you
did on Thursday. I have spoken to her and she assures me it's ok. AM I
overreacting? how do I deal with this. I think about this every moment
of every day. I cant sleep very well either. AM i having a normal reaction?
I have started taking buspar to try to calm me down. It helps a little.I
dont want to take anything stronger as I do have to work and support my
family. How dangerous of an operation is this?
Im sorry to ask you so many questions... but im a nervous wreck over this
Greg
Doctor's Answer
by CCF Cardio MD - MTR, Jul 15, 1998 12:00AM
Dear Greg, thank you for your question. I think I responded to one of your previous questions so it's good to hear from you again. Mitral valve repair is a safe operation, especially in young, healthy patients like you sound to be. However, it still is major cardiac surgery. It's common for patients who are awaiting major surgery to be anxious, depressed, and to second guess the decision to do the surgery. However, if your mitral valve is indeed leaking severely now, it's better to get the surgery done and fix the problem. From a personal perspective, a business colleague of my father's had mitral valve repair by Dr. Cosgrove here in April, 1997 and did great. He left the hospital in 4 days and quickly went back to work. I believe he was in his mid-50's. Dr. Cosgrove has been one of the pioneers in mitral valve repair and he and his surgical colleagues here have excellent results with this procedure. If you would like to be evaluated here, you could call 216-444-4470 for an appointment. No matter what you decide to do, it sounds like you may benefit from an early surgical date to just get through the experience.
