reading the tea leaves...

I followed up on the report of my TEE--trans-esophagyeal echo-cardiogram, since it left me in limbo as to how to proceed. Our health system here has a computer portal that one can log into and contact the docs, and see clinical reports, and lab results. It is a great site. They promise to make contact to answer questions sent to them in 48 hr--and for the most part--they do. First, my layman's summary of the TEE:

1. My ejection fraction is around 35%. My last but one was 50%. 50% or higher is considered normal. The ejection pressure is produced by the action of the left ventricle. I have a weakened left ventricle. That was established earlier and still exists. Its weakness apparently results in the lowered ejection fraction.

2. My aortic valve function shows mild-moderate stenosis. They only remove and replace the aortic valve if it is severely stenotic. So I am not a candidate at this time. 

The NP who is following my case answered my written enquiry with a telephone call that was quite productive. Since the outcome of my TEE is non-conclusive for what they expected, that is, the aortic valve is not the problem, they still don't have an acceptable reason why my heart went into the beginnings of failure again. She talked of my experience this time as an event for which they have no cause. I liked that wording since it seemed to me to more mimic my experience which seemed like a sudden onset after a long fight with an upper respiratory virus. 

One possible cause is the RCHOP--the acronym for the chemotherapy I had for my cancer 8-9 years ago.  Apparently there is some evidence that those poisons can produce organ damage at much later dates.

To rule out other possible causes they want to do an angiogram. In this they poke the femoral artery in the thigh and thread their way up into the heart where they can check pressures, and arteries for blockages, etc. She called this angiogram the gold standard. It is scheduled for Aug 12. It will require most of one day since although the procedure is relatively short, they have to make sure that the hole they make in the artery heals enough before they let you go.

In the meantime I am permitted to exercise so long as I don't become anaerobic that is, breathless. But that means that I can do more than I am currently. I am contemplating retrieving my road bike from my daughter and seeing if I can make some simple rides around the flat, back streets of town.

We'll see.....