Heart Valve Issues, Anyone?

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by belltoller, Oct 24, 2014.

  1. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    Well, I'm not altogether certain if I want to post this or not ... I'd taken a couple of months or nearly off from boxing as we were in the process of relocating from the Midwest to the SE of the States and then it were a bit to find an old-school club in our area.

    So, I started back - nothing heavy - no heavy sparring, just sort of a back to basics approach as I knew I'd not been terribly active in some time and wanted to spend time conditioning my legs as I'd pulled a nasty hamstring earlier in the year and I'd put on weight due to the inactivity.

    Something warn't ... quite right... over the last three weeks. I was getting mightily winded on things just months prior - were no problem - some of my favourite warm-ups - things that even my kids couldn't touch me on - were givin me fits - out of breath, muscles screaming...

    So, I went to our GP who, did an EKG, finding nothing, but being a very good doctor, sent me to a cardiologist where I did a stress test and Ultra Sound of the heart.

    I'd always had superb blood-pressure, cardiac function and so forth, despite the years of heavy smoking, not taking care of myself - I'd started in my mid-forties to correct things - began running, taking up MA, finding my long lost youth. Overcame a bad spate of ill-conditioning a few years ago and was chuffed at myself for heading up physically at an age when many begin their decline.

    So, I was surprised to hear that I've a damaged heart valve - leaking apparently. I've to go back for another stress test, this time I've to undergo it with radioactive dye for NMR studies.

    I've heard different things - that its no big deal, that management of health takes care of it, I've also heard other less-rosy possibilities.

    Anyone here been diagnosed with such? Whatcha do about it?

    The wife is wantin me to take it easy - BOLLOCKS - I've seen that with uncles who 'retired' and began filling their days with daytime soap-operas - it was a Px for death.

    If anything, I'm wanting to go in a 180 degree direction. Get myself ready for the ammy's - something - I'm thinking; but just between ourselves, the way my muscles are screaming for O2 now during rudimentary sessions in a way I've not felt before, its going to be a very steep climb. ( No, the doctor's have said nothing regards to specifics of what I can, canna do at this point - its early in the diagnose process, just throwing things on the table, as it were )

    Would really like to hear from someone who's been down this alley.
     
  2. embra

    embra Valued Member

    Greatest sympathies there.

    Do the best that you can, which I guess means sometimes taking life easy. BOLLOCKS is often my attitude to stuff that sucks as well.
     
  3. Van Zandt

    Van Zandt Mr. High Kick

    What does your cardiologist say?

    It's the heart, man. One of the few body parts you really need to be careful with.
     
  4. holyheadjch

    holyheadjch Valued Member

    Until you get a full diagnosis, take it easy.
     
  5. Rhythmkiller

    Rhythmkiller Animo Non Astutia

    Both my kids have leaking valves. The doctors monitor them every three months and check if the gap has grown. They are both on medication and will be on it for the rest of their lives.

    My little girl is only seven and my boy is two. My little girl does everything, TKD, Gymnastics, dancing and also attends brownies and put in more effort than the other kids in class. She is the reason i get up in the morning and do my best in life. My little boy will be starting TKD in April 2015 when he's three.

    I have a kind of different outlook on life owing to the way i was brought up. I was raised never to feel pity for myself, my brother and sister act in the exact same way as me. My father recently developed a heart problem at the age of 60, - when the rest of the family were worried sick he simply said it's no big deal and carries on till this day regardless.

    My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer five years ago and all through her chemo she continued to work. When the family held an intervention as to why she was working during her ilness and stating how stupid she was for doing it she simply told us that if she stopped then she'd die and the cancer would win. Her employer was very supportive aiding her in getting to the Beatson for treatment etc - she has since won her battle.

    Belltoller you have the right idea Bollocks to it.

    Baza
     
  6. inthespirit

    inthespirit ignant

    Belltoller, I'd be careful with this. Get a full diagnosis first and review your options.

    A friend of mine, very fit, relatively young, MA instructor had an undiagnosed heart valve condition. One day after teaching a class, went to change and one of his eyes completely lost vision. Went to the ER, had loads of tests, was diagnosed with a heart valve condition which in turn affected the blood supply to the optic nerve in one of his eyes. Had to have pretty urgent open heart surgery to replace the valve with a synthetic one (AFAIR). He was out for a good while after that, big scar on his chest, though back doing his thing now, sans vision in one eye, and he may have to do the surgery again to replace the valve in the future. So yeah, its not really something to mess around with.

    Hope in your case it turns out to be nothing major and all gets sorted. Best of luck!
     
  7. Anth

    Anth Daft. Supporter

    My dad had the opposite - he had a calcium buildup in the aortic valve causing a blockage. Blacked out when out with mam, got diagnosed and told he'd need surgery to replace the valve. Couple of months later he walked up a hill that we'd told him he wouldn't survive - we said "we told you so," when we met him at the hospital. The next week he was in for open heart surgery. This was 15 years or so ago and while he isn't doing MA every day (he's ower knackered for anything like that), he's carrying pigs and sides of beef around all day at work with age slowing him down more than anything. He just has to be careful of cuts and bruises because of the warfarin, that's all.

    So as the others have said, don't be daft and get it checked out!
     
  8. pseudo

    pseudo Padawan

    Well. I really hope everything clears up on its own however if they don't and you require surgery. From what I understand it's not a big deal. My old man had a quadruple bypass 6 months ago. The doctor said that this particular surgery has a very low complication rate. Very high success. My old man is already back on the tools (welder) feeling 20 years younger. Heart surgery by the sound of it ain't no thing anymore. 3 uncles have had similar surgeries. Anyway the general consensus seems to be that they all felt much better after the surgery and are all living very active lives.
     
  9. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    Whoa, the full spectrum of responses here. Yeah, that's what I've been encountering.

    Thanks all for your responses and well wishes - Anth and Pseudo - appreciate the encouraging stories; HolyHead, Embra - for the sound advisement.

    Tell you the truth, I'm a bit, well maybe alot, in denial about it - very odd how that works. When I was young, something like this would've terrified me but I'm finding I just push it out of my head now - not sure if that's good or bad, though I am taking it seriously.


    I'd finished the stress test, a little out of breath and sweating a bit, but not too badly - then they did the Ultra Sound - never had one done before. I had really expected the cardiologist to come in and say " you're fine, don't see any issues, and proceed to look at the endocrine system or whatever, instead he says "well, your heart pumping function is good but one of your valves seems to be leaking and its causing a heart murmur - we've got enough here to warrant Nuclear Resonance Imaging" - which I was already going numb and not hearing much after that - totally unexpected.

    They are going to have me repeat the stress test with an I.V. of radioisotopes so they can see how bad it is, I suppose. He did say that if it turned out to be mild or minimal, they'd keep an eye on it every 6 months or so - as they are doing in Baza's children's cases.


    Oh, man. That's just...when it your kids. It changes everything. Nothing is taken for granted.

    I just remembered, when our second son was born...they mentioned something about a possible heart murmur but apparently it was so slight - if at all - just to keep an eye on it. Nothing's ever shown up.

    Now I'm beginning to wonder.

    I've been taking him for granted. His older brother has severe OCD and possibly has a form of Asperger's and always gets the lions share of attention, but the little fellow does very well in school despite getting the dregs. His teachers always comment how polite and hard working he is. I'm usually so tired and stressed from the intensity of his brother's disorder(s) - I too often brush the little guy off.

    And I didn't realise how often I've done that, till now. You always think there will always be opportunities to make up for things later.

    But that's not true. There are only a very few.

    And they are gone so quickly.

    Thanks much for your post, mate.


    :eek: Woah.


    Yeah. I, as well. Thank you kindly.

    In either case though, I won't be returning to the way things were.
     
  10. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    Nothing to offer except my admiration for you big brother. BOLLOCKS to it.
     
  11. Mitch

    Mitch Lord Mitch of MAP Admin

    I've got nothing to add except my best wishes, here's hoping for the best possible outcome.

    Mitch
     
  12. Saved_in_Blood

    Saved_in_Blood Valued Member

    It's not a big deal at all these days man, my dad had the surge r about 10 years ago now and was out in 4 days... he felt better right after surgery. His healing process took a bit but after the rest he was soooo much better. He was in bad shape too, just walking 10 ft literally he sounded like he had just run a marathon. He had his replaced with a stainless steel and titanium heart valve so it took a little while to get his blood thinners dialed in. You have to watch your intake of vitamin k of course, I got my dad a vitamin supplement called clotomin which is just for heart patients.
     
  13. Dead_pool

    Dead_pool Spes mea in nihil Deus MAP 2017 Moi Award

    Requoted for truth!

    Good luck mate!
     
  14. Anth

    Anth Daft. Supporter

    Aye, the others have mentioned another good thing - modern medicine. When dad had his operation he was out in under a week - admitted Monday, operation Tuesday, intensive treatment unit Wednesday, intensive care Thursday, ward and home Friday. Back to work teaching people to ride motorbikes a few weeks later. In the 16 years since, the doctors have figured out how to clear blockages like his using keyhole surgery rather than cutting the chest open.

    That said, my logic has always been that limbs are expendable but your innards (and back/neck/head) aren't, so even if ego says "it's my body, I'll know if something's up so no doctor is stopping me," take the doctor's advice. If they say stop, stop, at least until you know for certain that you're not going to do more damage or drop.
     
  15. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    Thanks again. Stress test with isotopes on Tuesday.

    Hoping, of course, it turns out to be whatever minimal nothing such could be. But if not

    I'm counting on that Anth. Very much so.
     
  16. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    Crumbs! Good luck with everything fella!
     
  17. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    Thanks much, Boris - You're a good fellow. I should've been asleep hours ago, but today I went down to the basement and seeing all those naked, exposed ceiling joists and header-beams - I coudna stand it anymore, so I started mounting bags, pull-up bars, gymnastics rings, the speed bag - all the stuff that I couldn't put up before in the old place. So nice to have a heavy bag hanging dead-centre off the double-beamed floor joists, proper like - none o' that 'creak, creak' that makes me looney, lol.

    Maybe that's why I've a heart ailment - I never sleep. But I wanted to make sure all that was up before whatever comes, you know? More reason to pull through quick-like - so I've a chance to use it. ;)

    More carrots the better, eh?
     
  18. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    I wish I had space like that. Our flat is too small for anything except KBs / DBs and doing some pad work. Well, we could throw some furniture away but I am not sure Ms. Bostik would approve. :)

    I went up to the loft / attic / storage area years back and thought I'd set stuff up there. The beams are about a hundred years old by the look of them and creaked disturbingly when I hung off 'em. I was a bit worried about pulling the whole roof down. It gets cold here and roofs are a good thing.

    I couldn't even hang a tennis ball off a piece of rope for practicing eskrima as the roof and beams were too damn low. I couldn't swing a stick, let alone a cat.

    Shame as there's tons of space and no one else uses it.

    but you'll have all that ready for ya when you get back into training. The only thing missing is a massive system to blast out some tunes from! Or perhaps a stage and get bands to play while you train. :)

    Edit: Don't mention carrots...I'm sick of the sight of them. I'm on a diet of eggs, over cooked and pureed carrots, spinach, over ripe bananas and chicken!!! Elimination diets really are a slow and boring thing.
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2014
  19. belltoller

    belltoller OffTopic MonstreOrdinaire Supporter

    LOL! Yeah, the space issue; one can employ Japanese creativity with regards to horizontal space, but having a short ceiling - that's the worst. I remember our last house - I tried skip-roping, every other pass, a piece of plaster ceiling would go ricocheting off the window; next pass, the dog would be howling like mad - "Oh sorry, Sod; Daddy didn't mean it", lol.

    With regards to your old beams; I don't know about Finnish construction standards, but usually old beams are pretty solid makes - you might want to try and add trusses in between the beams - which won't help you if there's internal shearing, of course - you're landlord would be overjoyed to hear you've managed to pull his house down :eek:
     
    Last edited: Oct 26, 2014
  20. raaeoh

    raaeoh never tell me the odds

    I wish you well. I have a X in law in law weird guy who has a heart murmer. He uses it ad an excuse to do nothing. He is now in very poor shape. Diabetic, fat asthmatic, over all lazy. His Dr keeps telling him to get up and move. Live and love life.

    On the flip side my karate instructor had a heart attack a bit over 2 years ago. Triple bypass the works. Today he works harder than some of the mma guys. He spars with em all. He is aware of the ticker but, he keeps at it.
     

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