My personal experiences with Open Heart Surgery, specifically Mitral Valve Repair. It is my hope that, by sharing my personal expeiences, MVR candidates will have a better idea as to what to ask their doctors and what to expect prior to, during, and after their surgery. This is strictly from a patient's (my) perspective, a layman's perspective. Any specific questions about treatment options, surgery and recovery should be answered by your cardiologist and surgeon.
I've been a cardiac patient for over 15 years now and have been through many several scary medical procedures. Before each, I scanned every resource available to me, hoping for a little insight as to what to expect. While there was ample information from the doctor's perspective, I could find little, if any, information from a patient's perspective; i.e. does it hurt and if so, how bad. The lack of this information caused me a lot of needless stress and anxiety and resulted in me making several poor (as in self-destructive) decisions. It is my hope, by sharing my experiences here, I can help others understand what's actually involved, how it feels, and, yes, if it hurts.
My personal experiences with Open Heart Surgery, specifically Mitral Valve Repair. It is my hope that, by sharing my personal expeiences, MVR candidates will have a better idea as to what to ask their doctors and what to expect prior to, during, and after their surgery. This is strictly from a patient's (my) perspective, a layman's perspective. Any specific questions about treatment options, surgery and recovery should be answered by your cardiologist and surgeon.
I know from personal experience how scary the thought of having Cardioversion can be. I also know how little information is available on what these things mean from a patient's perspective; i.e. what it's like from the vantage point of someone who's been through it. It is my hope, by sharing my experiences here, that I can help others avoid some of the fear, anxiety and pitfalls I suffered through over the past several years.
Comments