If I can do well without a pulmonary heart valve ...

After Touring Dem Parks!

Looking back on my four and a half years without a pulmonary heart valve, I consider myself pretty lucky.  My condition hasn't slowed me down much, and, if anything, I've been more active since 2009 than at any time before.  Strength, cardio, core, biking, yoga, indoor rock climbing, racquetball, and a bit of running.  Today I even biked 40 miles through the parks of Baltimore City.

Alas, a routine echo cardiogram and cardiologist consultation this past Thursday uncovered an issue.  Because of a small tricuspid valve leakage that has developed, my doctors are now able to estimate the pressure inside my right ventricle.  If you want the details, the tricuspid valve connects the right ventricle to the right atrium, the speed of the leakage is carefully measured with the echo, and Bernoulli's principle is used to calculate the pressure differential. The point is, it's a reliable estimation and the pressure is too high; about twice that of a healthy heart (even higher under intense exercise).  Leaving this untreated would risk entering an arrhythmia and, I suppose, other things I didn't care to ask about.

The solution?  First, I've halted intensive exercise, taking it easy on the ride today, for example.  Then, on July 16th I'll be getting a new pulmonary heart valve in a short procedure that requires a one night hospital stay.  The product is the Medtronic Melody Valve, which about 2,500 people in the US have received since it was approved by the FDA in early 2010.  The product and procedure are amazing.  The Melody Valve is made from a cow's jugular vein valve that is sewn into a small metal stent, and like my 2009 procedure, is inserted through my artery (via my leg) to the heart and expanded in place.  The valve will start working immediately, and after ~four hours of laying still to allow my leg wounds to heal, I'll be able to get up and walk around.  I should be able to work the next day, and resume all normal activities within a week!  Not a bad deal.

If the procedure goes well, the Melody should do its job for the next several years.  Maybe 4 years.  Maybe 10.  Maybe longer.  Time will tell.  When it stops doing its job, my doctors should be able to insert another, smaller, Melody inside the first to get another reprieve.  And once that one wears out, or if the July procedure doesn't go well, it'll be another open heart surgery with a more traditional pig tissue valve sewn into place.  I'm expecting July to go well, but will do some planning should a full surgery become necessary.

While I'm admittedly a bit disappointed I didn't reach my 5 year goal, I'm definitely psyched to see how I can perform with my new hardware in place.  Hopefully better, faster, and stronger.  And no more excuse to rest along the way!