活跃健康怀孕需要一个新的主动脉瓣

艾琳·基德维尔工作了一整天，需要休息一下.

锻炼是她最喜欢的放松方式, 于是她做了几个深蹲和开合跳, 然后出去跑步.

Instead of being home in Dallas, she was visiting her parents in Midland, Texas. About two-thirds of the way through her route, she started to feel dizzy. 她的耳朵嗡嗡作响，视力模糊. It was August, so she thought the heat and humidity may have left her dehydrated.

她坐在路边喘口气. 然后她又站了起来.

她记得的下一件事是感到身体下面有砾石. 她听到一辆车停了下来. As she struggled to stand, a man jumped out of a pickup truck and ran to her.

那是她的父亲，在下班回家的路上.

“亲爱的，你还好吗??他说.

她一边哭一边发抖. Kidwell, about to turn 37, was eight weeks pregnant with her third child.

她和她父亲直接去了急诊室.

Doctors tended to her cuts and bruises and ran tests to try to figure out why she collapsed. 一切看起来都很正常. They sent her home with a recommendation to see a cardiologist because of an extensive family history of heart disease.

Kidwell's great-grandfather, grandmother and mother had all had a condition called aortic stenosis. It's marked by a narrowing in the main artery that carries blood from the heart to the body. Her grandmother had her aortic valve replaced and her mother was set to have her valve replacement operation in a few months.

Because of that family history, Kidwell had seen a cardiologist in her 20s. 她只记得被告知她有心脏杂音. She wasn't given any restrictions, nor was anything mentioned about being careful when pregnant. 另外，她前两次怀孕都很顺利.

Three weeks after she passed out, Kidwell saw a cardiologist in Dallas. 随后进行了超声心动图检查.

当技术人员似乎在加班的时候, Kidwell说, “我知道你什么都不能说，但一切都好吗??"

"I do think the doctor will probably be calling you soon," the technician said.

The cardiologist called Kidwell while she was still walking to her car.

“你的主动脉瓣快要关闭了，”医生说. "You need to stop all physical activity and you need to go to the valve clinic as soon as possible."

在专科诊所, 一组医生告诉艾琳和她的丈夫, 扎克, 她需要一个新的主动脉瓣.

To emphasize the problem, the surgeon walked over to a door that was closed. 他转动把手，把它向外推了几英寸.

“这就像你的阀门，”他说. “它几乎没有营业，而且要加班加点才能继续营业. 如果你没有怀孕，你会马上接受手术."

因为她怀孕了，医生们争论该怎么做.

他们担心她的心脏无法承受分娩. 要么艾琳，要么她的孩子，要么两个都活不下去. Options included a cesarean section at 28 weeks and even terminating the pregnancy.

艾琳和扎克进入了深入研究模式. 扎克 became obsessed with possible scenarios, losing days to worrying about the worst outcomes.

“早期的日子, I felt like Erin and I were locked in a box and that the doctors were thumbing through their keys to find the right key to get her out,扎克说。.

医疗小组也做了研究. 在咨询了其他专家之后，他们想出了一个游戏计划.

Because Erin's heart was otherwise strong and the unborn baby was healthy, 医生决定每周给她检查一次，每月给孩子检查一次. 他们的目标是坚持到37周.

现在，他们知道孩子会是个男孩. 艾琳选择了凯勒这个名字.

“它的意思是全心全意，”她说.

艾琳坚持到了37周，没有出现任何并发症.

2月. 22, 2022, 扎克, an obstetrician and a host of specialists attended the delivery – in the intensive care unit. Most of the team stayed just outside the door, ready if they were needed.

艾琳能够自然分娩. 她使劲推了一下凯莱布. 他立即被安置在他母亲的胸前.

The obstetrician gave a thumbs up to those watching outside the door. 艾琳和扎克听到了他们的欢呼和鼓掌.

“你有多少像艾琳这样的病人??扎克问麻醉师.

“在我30年的工作生涯中，没有一次，”他说. “这是我所见过的最神奇的事情之一."

扎克很高兴看到儿子和妻子都很健康, he knew there would soon be another trip to the hospital for Erin's valve replacement surgery.

那是在五月. 一切进展顺利, although it also included a surprise finding: Her aorta had only one flap instead of the usual three.

几个月后，艾琳又像以前一样跑步和锻炼了.

"It was a crazy year and a half, but there were many blessings, too," Erin said. "I want to use my time here on earth to raise three really great kids and also support other people going through the kind of scary things I did."

发自内心的故事 chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.

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