经过六年的症状,诊断为肥厚性心肌病
多年来,迈克尔·里佐(Michael Rizzo)一直感觉不太对劲,但他一直找不到原因. 随着线上电子游戏飞禽走兽的推移,他感觉越来越糟,甚至在适度的运动中也会感到特别疲惫.
“我只是把这归咎于我的哮喘和严寒的天气,”里佐说.
At one point he thought he might have a heart problem. 他和他的医生都听到了杂音,但检查没有得出结论. Further tests months later were inconclusive as well.
Finally, after six years of wondering, 他的秘密被解开了,但一个戏剧性的新的健康之旅才刚刚开始.
在新泽西的一个医疗保健系统做护理人员的时候, 一天,他来到医院,浑身是汗,筋疲力尽. 他认为自己可能是心脏病发作,一天后,他去见了心脏病专家. Robert Saporito.
Saporito指出了一种肥厚性心肌病, or HCM, 心脏腔壁增厚,通常由遗传因素引起, resulting in decreased heart function.
"It was like, oh my goodness, finally! It's not in my head," Rizzo said.
他在网上研究了HCM,并联系了丽莎·索尔伯格, 肥厚性心肌病协会的创始人兼首席执行官. 几周后,他接受了一次成功的手术——鼻中隔肌切除术和二尖瓣修复. Just five months later, he was back at work.
But soon after, he began having chest pain. 在做了更多的检查后,令人震惊的消息传来了:“你需要移植,”里佐回忆说.
With the help of medication, 里佐又工作了大约三年,等待他的新心脏. 终于有一天,他在2017年接受了移植手术.
“经历两次心脏直视手术并不愉快, 但令人惊讶的是,你的大脑很快就会忘记它," said Rizzo, now 56.
通过这一切,他学到了很多关于为自己辩护的教训. 在最近的一次庆祝移植手术五周年的聚会上, Rizzo spoke to his guests, including Salberg, about resilience and thanked his "donor angel.他说,他的故事为病人的视角提供了新的视角.
"You know in your gut when something's not right, and you're not feeling well, and to just push things a little further," Rizzo said.
The Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association 参加美国心脏协会的肥厚性心肌病倡议,以提高HCM的认识和护理.