Ok, so I might as well go through the whole deal so here goes:
I had to get a pre-employment physical to be a lifeguard for the city that I live in. When I went to get my physical the doctor said that he thought he heard a noise in my neck and my blood pressure was about 25 points higher in the right arm than the left. He recommended that I go see a cardiologist. Great. So, first I go see my regular doctor, to see if he even thought that a trip to a cardio was worth the time and the $25 co-pay. He checked me out, did an EKG, and said that everything was a-ok. Apparently I had a heart murmur (my mom said I had been told that before, but I don't remember that) and it's normal for the blood pressure to be off a little in the 2 arms. However, this clean bill of health wasn't good enough for the city so I still had to get a referral to a cardiologist. When I go to the cardio a week later (which would be yesterday) they did a sonogram, an EKG (again), and took the blood pressure in all 4 limbs. The doc said that I have a bicuspid aortic valve, something that I was born with. He also said that I have mild aortic stenosis and mild to moderate aortic insufficiency.
Now, to the question. Does anybody here have any experience with this? Know about any kind of limitations? Anybody actually have this? Or know somebody with it? Any personal experiences and stuff like that would be helpful, just to kind of get an idea what I'm in store for. Anybody know anyone who has had to get this valve replaced? Apparently this is with I'm looking at in the future (like when I'm in my 40's/50's).
I had to get a pre-employment physical to be a lifeguard for the city that I live in. When I went to get my physical the doctor said that he thought he heard a noise in my neck and my blood pressure was about 25 points higher in the right arm than the left. He recommended that I go see a cardiologist. Great. So, first I go see my regular doctor, to see if he even thought that a trip to a cardio was worth the time and the $25 co-pay. He checked me out, did an EKG, and said that everything was a-ok. Apparently I had a heart murmur (my mom said I had been told that before, but I don't remember that) and it's normal for the blood pressure to be off a little in the 2 arms. However, this clean bill of health wasn't good enough for the city so I still had to get a referral to a cardiologist. When I go to the cardio a week later (which would be yesterday) they did a sonogram, an EKG (again), and took the blood pressure in all 4 limbs. The doc said that I have a bicuspid aortic valve, something that I was born with. He also said that I have mild aortic stenosis and mild to moderate aortic insufficiency.
Now, to the question. Does anybody here have any experience with this? Know about any kind of limitations? Anybody actually have this? Or know somebody with it? Any personal experiences and stuff like that would be helpful, just to kind of get an idea what I'm in store for. Anybody know anyone who has had to get this valve replaced? Apparently this is with I'm looking at in the future (like when I'm in my 40's/50's).