Time to Blog Again?

This has been a strangely different year for me thus far.  Some life changing experiences.  It seems like sometimes we need to take a look at our own mortality to keep things in perspective.  Or maybe to motivate us to blog again!

I was diagnosed with a heart murmur several years ago.  It didn't seem too serious at the time.  A few tests were run to see if I ran the risk of making it worse by getting infections... outcome negative.  So I went about life as usual, thinking I was pretty healthy, almost to the point of being invincible.  My main physical pursuit was hiking.  I set a goal to hike the highest peak in every county in Utah... and almost made it.  I hiked the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim four times as I passed 59 and eased into my 60's. I was also enjoying horseback riding in the mountains near home, "shed hunting", golfing, fishing, gardening and about anything else that could be done outside.

My annual wellness check in 2014 revealed the heart murmur getting worse.  My doctor sent me to a cardiologist who ran test after test.  I was also starting to feel some symptoms; shortness of breath, muscle fatigue, that kind of thing.  Tests revealed I have a condition called HOCM or Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy.  The wall between the ventricles of my heart is growing thicker to the point that it is obstructing the blood outflow to the aorta.  Mitral valve function is also impaired.

Tests and more tests over the next few years along with more medications and the problem continues to get worse.  In 2017 hiking with friends or golfing finds me lagging behind.  It is not uncommon  for the group to have to wait for me, something I am not used to.  As 2018 begins I am realizing I need to get something done.  My cardiologist tells me that he has done all he can for me.  Next step is surgery.

When it comes to treating HOCM surgically, two options are available.  The least invasive is called septal alcohol ablation.  It consists of running a catheter into your heart, targeting some specific veins in the septum and releasing enough alcohol to kill some of the muscle.  Basically creating a "controlled" heart attack.  Option two is called septal myectomy.  More invasive.  They open your chest and go inside your heart and surgically trim the excess muscle.

Initially my cardiologist recommended that I go to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota, premier center for this procedure.  Sometime around late 2017 the Intermountain Heart Institute in Salt Lake City was awarded a "Center of Excellence" for this procedure.  I decided to check them out, and was very impressed with the doctors and staff there.  The decision was made to have septal myectomy in Late September 2018.

It is kind of hard to make the decision t have your chest opened and your heart stopped when you don't really have to.  I rationalized that I could get along fairly well for a few more years without treatment.  I would be getting old fast, my activity would be limited, but I would be alive.  With surgery I could be returned to a nearly normal healthy lifestyle.  The deciding factor:  inevitably; it would have to be done sooner or later.  Do it now while I am still relatively healthy, or wait until I "have" to have it done and risk longer recovery and more complications?  The choice was not hard for me.  I chose to have more good years.

Surgery was scheduled for October 3rd at the Intermountain Heart Institute in Murray Utah.  I survived as confirmed by this blog.  Details in my next one.