David’s Story

Strange as it may sound, American David Darsch counts his life threatening heart condition as: “A gift. My heart condition has enhanced my life.”

The problem started in 1991 when David, aged just 32 was living the conventional American life. He looked forward to working hard until retirement until, out of the blue he found out from doctors that he had a severe heart condition – a mitral valve pro-lapse with significant regurgitation.

When the heart contracts to pump blood, mitral valves snap shut to prevent blood flowing back into the chambers of the heart. Mitral valve pro-lapse (MVP) occurs when one of the heart's valves doesn't close properly due to abnormalities in its structure.

It is the most common heart valve abnormality, affecting five to ten percent of the world’s population. People with severe MVP can have blood leak back through the valve opening (mitral regurgitation) after the heart pumps it out. In severe cases this mitral regurgitation can lead to heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms.

Initial treatments

Doctors offered David a heart valve replacement to solve the problem.

David remembers he was offered a choice between (1) a mechanical device that would last indefinitely but require him to take blood thinning medication for life or (2) biological valve replacement meaning a life without medicines but which last approximately ten years.

David says: “I chose to have a biological, porcine, mitral valve produced by Medtronic. I was told it would last approximately twelve years.”

David recalls “Before the procedure I felt OK. Even with a heart problem it wasn’t that I felt really bad. You just know you have to go through a procedure that is going to make you feel poorly for a period of time, so that you can continue to feel good in the long run.”

Twelve years later, almost to the day, the replacement valve began to falter and David had to decide again which type of valve to choose. He chose the biological valve for a second time. David says: “They say this one will take me to 2015 and then I have to make that decision once again.”

Immediately before the operation in 2003 David made a decision to get out of hospital as soon as possible, ideally three days after he had undergone open heart surgery for the second time. He was. David left hospital after exactly three days.

The situation was very different for his first open heart surgery in 1991 when technologies were far less advanced. David found himself in various cardiac and intensive care units for over ten days and recalls that time as “one of the most painful and uncomfortable moments of my life.”

“In both cases it took between 60-90 days for what I would call full recovery, which is as much emotional as it is physical. You need to get used to waking up every day and looking down at a half-metre scar on your chest. You look at that every day and say to yourself Jeez, I’m lucky to be alive.”

How heart valve replacement helped David

“I had all these things I wanted to do and at 32 years old I was told I had heart disease.

To this day my cardiologist still smiles when remembering that four months after surgery, in 1992, I asked him ‘what do I need to do so that you can certify that I can climb the Andes mountains?’ He started to laugh and said I’ve never had a heart patient ask that.”

The surgeon was not entirely certain David’s heart could stand the strain, and concerned that should a problem arise, he would be two or three days away from hospital care. Nevertheless, David climbed the Andes.

Two years later he flew to Europe and rented a motorcycle to take part in a tour of the Swiss, Italian and French Alps. Two years after that, David and his brother took on the Tundra of northern Alaska for a 21-day dog sled expedition.

The future for David

Now a successful Barcelona-based businessman, David feels he has been fortunate to have MVP and be treated. He says: “Whenever I can I spend time with people who are pre-op and post-op and just share my experiences, I share them as a gift. Not as an illness, not as a disease but as a gift. I think my greatest accomplishment is just being a guiding light for other people.

He concludes: “The easiest way to answer a question about my illness is that I personally do not perceive I have a heart condition. I live my life in a manner which I think is as robust, if not more robust, than other people.”

Next: Libby's Story

This story reflects one person's experience. Not every person will receive the same results. Talk to your doctor about your treatment options.

Last updated: 13 Jan 2011