My son is 19 and for the first 7 years of his life I had a suspicion that something was not right. Although healthy and active, he tired easily and had elevated blood pressure. After pursuing a second opinion the mystery unfolded.
- a Gore-Tex patch to the descending aorta due to
coarctation... diagnosed at age 7.
- a cardiac ablation at age 12 for periodic tachycardic spells of brief duration.
- stent application at age 15 for narrowing at the
aortic/carotid junction. The stent migrated to his abdomen
just above the mesenteric vessel. The initial ballooning apparently helped to dilate the vessel somewhat.
- One year ago at age 18 he had an episode of atrial fibrillation and was medically cardioverted after 7 hours.
Stan is a bright young man in his sophomore year of college as a pre-seminary student. This has not been an easy adjustment nor acceptance for him. Having others to chat with would be great.
