Cardiology Update ~ So happy!

On Monday, April 18th (yesterday) I took Alexa to her cardiology check up.  Considering I am very close to giving birth (almost 37 weeks) I was really hoping for good news.  Good news to me means at least the same as last visit and no change to a negative side. 

Normally it takes us about 20 minutes to get to her clinic.  Yesterday, it took us ONE AND HALF HOURS!  We along with half of Phoenix were stuck in bumper to bumper traffic because of a freeway closure (man threatenting to jump off the overpass).  I knew about the freeway closure in advance so left an hour and 15 minutes early and I was still late by 15 minutes.  I just really wanted to make it to her appointment.  I needed to know how things were going before this baby is born.

Alexa now weighs 31.9 ounces and is 35.7 inches tall!  She did awesome during her echo, she was completely still.  She was enjoying watching one her favorite movies ~ Toy Story 3 and sucking on a lolly pop.  The tech was very impressed by how well she did through out the echo. 

Dr. P was in shock to see how big she has gotten.  And he had such good news to report! He told me Alexa's pulmonary pressure gradient actually read LOWER than at the previous visit 6 months ago!!! Last time it was 30 this time it was 25.  He said it could be possibly mean it was really the same number, that maybe she was just 'stiller' this time for the echo, but I remember last time she did really great too, just laying still.  So either way, if we say it's lower it's fantastic if it's the same it's still fantastic!!!  He said that her left ventricle is working STELLAR! All her heart function is great!

I only learned about one new tidbit of info - which is that she has a very tiny mitral valve leak.  He said he suspects it is nothing wrong with valve leaflets themselves but instead explained that do the location of her pacer lead as the ventricle receives the signal to contract one side is receiving the signal like a mili second sooner and so the "leaflet doors" are just closing a little off of each other like one before another so allowing a tiny bit of regurgitation.   He said this is not a problem and does not expect it to become one.  He said I probably have more regurgitation now because of the excess blood volume during pregnancy than she has going on right now. 

So then he went on to check her pacemaker function.  Said he could tell she is a very active little girl! =)  He said also everything looked good and discovered that she once again has AN UNDERLYING HEATBEAT OF HER OWN!!!!  He was very surprised it came back and double checked it to be sure and it was true! Her heart is now able to beat on it's own at least 51 beats per minute.  This of course is slow but it is MUCH MUCH better than nothing!!! 

I was so grateful, so happy, so relieved!  I didn't really think I could expect a visit with better than 'just the same' results but yesterday's visit proved me wrong - things can get better!!!!   So we got another six months in the clear with a 3 month pacer check call in.