Duke
Cardiology
(The
Echocardiogram << Previous
Page
8/29/2008
I
consulted a relative who is an intern at Duke Medical Center
in Durham, NC. He referred me to a Dr.
Andrew Wang, who was
considered the "go to" guy at Duke Cardiology. I made an
appointment with him
immediately.
As
I understand it, Dr. Wang is one of the top Cardiologist
at Duke University Medical Center. On the day of
the appointment. he had another echocardiogram performed.
Based on
this
procedure,
he said that
the indications for surgery were there and that I
needed
to talk to a Cardiac Surgeon. Based on information
found online, I was able to find what are
considered generally accepted indications for mitral
valve surgery.
The results of the second echocardiogram clearly put
me into the range of elective surgery. |
Dr.
Andrew Wang
|
Indications
for Mitral Valve Surgery
The
following table shows the parameters that, according to
a Wikipedia article, may indicate the need for mitral valve
surgery (Wikipedia.org
- Mitral Regurgitation - accessed 11/28/08)
| Symptoms |
LV EF |
LVESD |
| Asymptomatic or Symptomatic |
50 - 60 % |
>= 45 mm |
| Asymptomatic or Symptomatic |
< 50 % and >= 45mm |
| Pulmonary Artery Systolic Pressure >= 50
mmHG |
Where:
LV EF = Left Ventrical Ejection Fraction
LVESD = Left Ventrical End Systolic Dimension
My
latest echo, which was performed at Duke, indicated the
following:
LV EF > 55%
LVESD = 51mm
As mentioned by Dr. Wang, these parameters clearly indicated
that surgery was appropriate. The main factor, according
to Wang, was that the left ventrical was enlarged due to
the extra work required to maintain a normal ejection fraction.
This extra work resulted in overstressed LV heart muscles
which will progress to further enlargement and ultimately
congestive heart failure. This all indicated the need for
elective heart surgery to head-off further damage to the
heart.
He
then referred me to Dr.
Donald Glower, who was considered #1 in the world
at doing minimally invasive mitral valve surgeries. then
scheduled an appointment with Dr. Glower for mid September.
Next
Page >> Surgery Consultation
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