How many here have bicuspid aortic valves?

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I do, but it's asymptomatic.

As of the last visit on Friday, the findings included (seemingly important in bold):

Left ventricular chamber is mildly dilated, with ejection fraction of 55%, but otherwise normal.
Left atrial chamber is normal.
Right ventricular chamber is normal.
Right atrium is normal.
Aortic valve appears bicuspid, with mild regurgitation, but no stenosis.
Mitral valve appears normal with no regurgiation, but mild prolapse.
Tricuspid valve appears normal, with trace regurgitation. No pulmonary hypertension.
Pulmonic valve appears normal, with trace regurgitation.
There is no pericardial effusion.
Ascending aorta is not dilated (i.e. it has a normal diameter).
Inferior vena cava appears normal.

If it was asymptomatic, why did you have your aortic valve checked at all?

Long story. When I was using the spironolactone, I had problems with fainting and stuff, and my PCP referred me to a cardiologist after taking around a heart meter. The cardiologist, as she told me later, heard a heart murmur; due to my young age, she suspected bicuspid aortic valve and indeed that was what was found.

Hi, I remember reading about echocardiogram to evaluate patients with rheumatic fever, and it turned out that modest regurgitation was relatively common, so much so they weren't sure it was that good a tool. And I gathered that in many cases not that big a deal. So, that's good news.

And a question which might sound like it's out of left field: Have you had bouts with OCD which come on relatively quickly and fade away more slowly? As a related condition to rheumatic fever, it's hypothesized that antibodies to strep might attack and inflame the brain's basal ganglia, although some doctors are skeptical about this.

* In developed countries, rheumatic fever is rare. I'm not trying to diagnose you. I'm just trying to share what information I have.

Source or any idea of how to find it?



No, I believe not. The transthoracic echocardiogram has repeatedly confirmed bicuspid aortic valve (and they look at my heart chambers, and what appears to be most of the length of the aorta), which is the best way to confirm diagnosis, per this source:

http://www.nmh.org/nm/heart-valve-bicus ... -diagnosis

So, up to 33% of people have some regurgitation of the aortic valve? That seems to be what this is saying.

( * and this article seems to be all in favor of using echocardiograms)

Now, I very much advocate steering a middle path between panicking and the other mistake of avoiding future warning signs that are good percentages moves to follow up on.

My mother, who is in her mid-70s has a-fib (atrial fibrillation) and takes a blood thinner. Or as her cardiologist explained, 'blood thinner' is a more coloquial term which means reducing the coagulation properties of the blood. For the blood can pool and some chance of clots which can cause heart attack or strokes. So, the medication gets the odds more in her favor.

beneficii, of the things you list, and you put it out there, just to be a sounding board and another set of eyes, this is I assuming a less than typical ejection fraction? ANd this might be the one with the most potential for future problems and the one with the most potential benefit for following up on.

My cardiologist recommends yearly echocardiogram to check for any further signs of either decompensation of the aortic regurgitation or dilatation of the ascending aorta (which seem to be the two most likely "bad" outcomes). She nevertheless thinks I'm in overall good health.

The normal ejection fraction is 50%/55% on, so I'm at the bottom, but nowhere near heart failure (which is like below 35%). Nevertheless, even so, I have been a lot more fatigued lately, but I've also had a lot more sensory sensitivities lately, so that could be psychological.

That's a huge variance. Nevertheless, repeated echocardiogram has shown it consistently in me.

Bicuspids...

I was trying to figure out what connection there'd be between teeth and heart valves...

I'm glad you're in good overall health!

And it sounds like your cardiologist skillfully takes the next step of what's important to follow up with.

Okay, I'm not quite following the part with the ejection rate for the left ventricle. If 35% ejection rate is heart failure and 50 - 55% is normal, it looks like 55 would be the better side of normal?

I think normal stretches into the 70'ish percent range, so it looks like I'm at the lower end, but it's good enough.

One thing I've noticed, though, is my blood pressure. I've never had blood pressure as high as 120/80. Usually it's in the 100-115'ish/55-75'ish range, but it can go lower. When I was at my endo this week, it was as low as 100/50! In the past, without spironolactone, I've had it go as low as 90s/40s. And I'm a big big big salt eater, and sometimes I will absolutely crave salt; in fact, when I have an ocular migraine (where I don't have the headache, just the strange feeling and visual symptoms), something about salt is particularly satisfying.

Nevertheless, blood tests have generally come back normal, so don't know.

I had a whole bunch of really salty food from about 1850-1920 EST and then at 2020 EST had my blood pressure checked at a grocery store. It was 94/64.

EDIT: I also drank lots of water during that period.

I listened to what normal heart sounds sound like and what aortic regurgitation sounds like. Apparently, there is a lub-dub, lub-dub sound in a normal heart. Where lub is quickly followed by the dub, and the dub is more slowly followed by the next lub. There is always silence between the lub and the dub and the dub and the next lub.

With aortic regurgitation, there is a wide variety of sounds, but one sound I noticed, and which I also noticed when using a stethoscope to listen to my own heart beat at Erb's point (left sternum), is more of a BOOooWAP sound, followed by slience that is shorter than the sound, before moving to the next BOOooWAP. There aren't distinct sounds like with the lub and dub.

So I have just learned something new. I have already liked heart sounds.