Chesty issues

I had my appointment at the Breast Center yesterday, and am happy to report all went well. I knew that once I turned 35, that I would need to start getting mammograms on a yearly basis. With our family history (my mom is a 5-year breast cancer survivor and her mother, my grandma, died of the disease when she was 60), I am labeled as "high-risk." Thus, my primary care doctor referred me to the High-Risk Breast Clinic with Mercy and United Hospitals. As part of the program, I met with a genetic counselor, a surgeon, and got plenty of information to help me make decisions for the future.

I am hoping this will be the end of doctor's visits for me for a while. Back in September, when I was at my yearly physical, my primary care doctor discovered I had a heart murmur. Along with the heart palpitations and fatigue I was experiencing, it made sense to have an echocardiogram to see what was going on. The test confirmed I do have a heart murmur and a heart condition called mitral valve prolapse and mitral valve regurgitation.

What is that you ask? Well, when working properly, heart valves open and close fully. In mitral valve regurgitation however (which I have worse then the prolapse), the mitral valve doesn't close tightly. So, with each heartbeat, some blood from the left ventricle flows backward into the left atrium, instead of forward into the aorta. Regurgitation refers to this backflow of blood through the heart valve. As a result, blood flow to the rest of your body decreases. In response, the left ventricle may enlarge so that it can pump more blood with each heartbeat. At first this adaptation helps your heart beat with more force. But eventually, the change weakens your heart.

Luckily, my regurgitation is mild, so I don't need surgery at this point in time. However, there is no medication for it and so I am learning to live with the heart palpitations which are bothersome, but not life threatening. It's also worse at night, when I am laying flat to sleep, and that has been my greatest difficulty in trying to get asleep and stay asleep. And that makes me tired, combined with the fatigue of the condition, has made me less-than my energetic self the past few months. I am already doing all the things the doctors want me to do (I don't smoke, don't drink alcohol excessively, I'm not overweight, and we eat a heart-healthy diet) Except I need to start exercising! So, starting in the new year we will be joining the new Y in town and I will be getting the amount of exercise I need. Thanks to all of you who have asked and kept me in your thoughts and prayers. I am just taking it one day at time.

**On a side note, for those of you who are wondering: I did beat Russ in our Fantasy Football match-up! I won by only 3 points, but it was a win and a big upset knocking him off off his previously perfect 10-0 record. As a side bet, he had to shave the beard he has been growing for deer hunting into a goatee and keep it for at least a week. I think it's sexy, plus it's driving him crazy with all the itching!