Co-morbidities and ET

Now what? Navigating heart valve issues

with ET.

In addition to juggling ET, I am also being monitored for a wonky mitral (heart) valve. Just had my annual echocardiogram to check on its progress, so this is a good time to talk a little about how ET complicates the health picture for those of us with additional health issues.

My mitral valve prolapse was officially diagnosed when I was about 30. (I think I've recounted the story about how one of my college friends in vet school actually detected the murmur when we were in our 20s and playing around with her dog stethoscope. Yes, people doctors could learn a lot from veterinarians ...) 

When I was 60, my GP decided the murmur was getting louder, and I was sent to a cardiologist. The upshot was that, yes, there was now regurgitation with the mitral valve (it's too floppy and doesn't close properly), and I was probably looking at having to have it repaired somewhere down the road. As an added bonus, I was also diagnosed with ET a few months later due to the high platelet count on the routine CBC.

Anyhow, ET complicates the mitral valve picture because the two maladies share many symptoms: Dizziness, migraines, fatigue, and anxiety. Yes to all of the above, plus some shortness of breath and acid reflux (GERD), which could be the result of seasonal asthma. 

So the only real way to gauge how bad the mitral valve is is with sonographic imaging.

Repairing a mitral valve usually involves open-heart surgery, but there is, for older adults who cannot tolerate OHS, a transcatheter fix. The surgeon goes in through your groin with a little clippy thing and snaps it into place. It's good for at least 10 years. Recovery time is much shorter and less grueling than with OHS.

So I want the transcath procedure if at all possible, but it's hard to get unless you're over 70 and are not a candidate for OHS for some other co-morbidity. I just turned 68. But if I need the transcath repair before I'm 70, could ET give me an edge?

My old cardiologist thought so, so I figured that would be my choice. But he retired, and the new guy--who I suspect knows nothing about ET--hedged about this at my last appointment. 

So what's the verdict? I'm good to go for another year on the heart valve as is. And as good news goes, I'll take it.

Be well!