A 56 year old man had a heart murmur picked up on a company medical. He was referred to see us at Exeter Heart the following day, where we performed a cardiac ultrasound (echocardiogram) at the time of the visit.
On talking to his consultant after the scan, it was clear that he had been slowing down over last few months, due to breathlessness and he had felt that something was not quite right for some time.
We identified a congenital abnormality of the aortic valve (bicuspid valve) that predisposes to accelerated degeneration of the function of the valve. When a bicuspid valve causes symptoms, it needs to be replaced by a surgeon.
Exeter heart has both Consultant Cardiologists and a Consultant Cardiac surgeon within our team and so referral was very straightforward. The valve was replaced several weeks later and the patient is now back at work.