Skip to main content

My heart condition

I know I have briefly mentioned my heart condition in my blog before. I told how with my pregnancies there was a very small chance of it being passed down genetically. Fortunately that didn't happen. I am the only one in my family that has this or any type of structural heart defect. It's called Transposition of the Great Arteries, now referred to as Transposition of the Great Vessels. It's a congenital defect and there is no explanation for why it happens at this time. The defect happens while the heart is developing in the very early stages of life. The abnormality is very severe and is not compatible with life. So shortly after the baby is born he/she will need open heart surgery to correct the abnormality.


This is a normal heart. This picture shows the circulation of blood. Below I have a picture of a normal heart compared to a heart with Transposition of the Great Arteries.


Here you can see the structural differences. This defect does not allow the oxygenated blood to be carried out into the body. The heart keeps circulating the oxygenated blood towards the heart and the de-oxygenated blood away from the heart. 

Today they do a procedure called the Atrial Switch operation. It is very effective and has great long-term results.  But, I was born in 1984 and during that time they were using a procedure called the "Mustard" procedure. The Atrial Switch procedure came along a couple years later, so I'm one of the last to have the Mustard procedure. Now, don't get me wrong, the Mustard procedure saved my life and was a great "fix" for it's time, but it just doesn't withstand time and the wear and tear on the heart. 

This is a picture of what the heart looks like after the Mustard procedure. Now, the left side of the heart is doing the work that the right side of the heart was created to do and the right side of the heart is doing the work that the left side of the heart was created to do. Not really ideal, but hey, it works and I'm 30! 

Over time these areas that have been surgically altered get leaks and become obstructed from scar tissue and another heart surgery is necessary to rebuild these areas. I have come to that point in my life. The doctors say that since the onset of these symptoms caused by this deterioration is slow that I really don't notice how bad I feel. That I have adapted to the changes in my health overtime and once I have the surgery and recover I will realize just how bad I was feeling. This makes me excited. I can't wait to see what they are talking about. It's just what I have to go through to get there is frightening. But, I am optimistic and know I am in great hands. 


Comments

  1. Brent & KristieMarch 17, 2016 at 12:27 PM

    My brother, born in 1980, has this same exact heart condition. xo

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Preperation

We all know what tomorrow is and we all know what is to come.  Sure, time with our family, but if you are cooking the meal you are probably thinking of all the time in the kitchen you are going to spend, the dishes, the "how in the WORLD am I going to prepare all this with one measly oven?". If you are like me, you like to prepare a little a head of time and make what you can the night before so you can just pop in in the oven to cook.  And you can tackle those dishes a little early so they don't overrun your kitchen as they would if you were preparing everything all at once.   I also like to have a little snack for people to munch on while they are waiting for the main dishes. Kind of like a warm up for the tummy.  This year it's just me and hubby and our little girl, but I thought since there is a long weekend coming up and my husband is going to be here SO MUCH (come on, you know I love him) I figured, why not make something that we can have on hand for br...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pills...pills...more pills?!

As I mentioned a while back, I went to the OB/GYN doctor on the fourth of August. He ran some blood work to see my progesterone , FSH and LH levels.They all came back showing the classic signs of PCOS . But, I have a great doctor and he is determined to get me ovulating regularly. He says I obviously don't have a problem getting pregnant, since I've been there twice before, it's just my ovulation is out of whack. Yes, I said twice before. In February we found out that I was pregnant again, four days later I lost it. I was only five weeks along. We didn't tell our families just a few close friends. Anyway, after the test results came back my doctor started me on Metformin . I've heard of women with PCOS taking this because of insulin resistance and it helps them to regulate, but he told me that it would help decrease the risk of a miscarriage. So I started that on the eleventh. Aunt flow decided not to show up this month so he prescribed me Prometrium (progesteron...
1 comment
Read more

Hip Dysplasia

At Elliot's 3rd well baby visit her pediatrician discovered a click in her left hip.  He said that it could be nothing, but we should get it checked out and he referred us to an orthopedic surgeon at a children's hospital 3 hours away.   We had our first appointment with the orthopedic surgeon at the end of July and sure enough he diagnosed her with left hip dysplasia.  He assured us it was a common thing and can be treated.  The first step in our treatment plan was a Pavlik Harness.          This is the actual picture shown on the packaging of the harness.  Me and my husband thought "well that baby is happy, it can't be that bad"...wrong!  The nurse put it on her and she screamed her head off the whole way through!  Then they decided that one was too small and took it off and put a bigger one on her.  Oh, it was terrible she was screaming, I was crying.  The doctor and nurse kept telling me that it wasn't hurting ...
2 comments
Read more