By Samantha Sewick
Staff Writer
Being diagnosed with anything can be a challenge, but some people, like sophomore Owen McCarthy, choose to not let their diagnosis define them.
McCarthy has what’s called a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV), which means instead of his aortic valve having three leaflets, he has two.
According to medicineplus.gov, a normal aortic valve allows oxygen-rich blood to flow from the heart to the aorta. It prevents the blood from flowing back from the aorta into the heart when the pumping chamber relaxes.
A BAV may not be completely effective at stopping blood from leaking back into the heart. This leakage is called aortic regurgitation.
The aortic valve may also become stiff and not open up. This is called aortic stenosis, which causes the heart to pump harder than usual to get blood through the valve.
Additionally, McCarthy said he has the inability to regulate his blood pressure.
McCarthy, who was born with his defect and was diagnosed during a routine check-up when he was 3, said, “They noticed that there was a murmur and irregular heartbeat and decided to investigate further.”
After his diagnosis, he was referred to Dr. Sam Lacina at DeVos in 2006; McCarthy was then referred to the University of Michigan the year after. Doctors there referred him back to Dr. Lacina, who has been McCarthy’s cardiologist since.
McCarthy is scheduled to get a new cardiologist this month due to his former doctor retiring.
For someone with this type of birth defect, McCarthy’s life has still had some limitations even though he considers himself asymptomatic.
“I don’t usually think of it affecting my life on a day-to-day basis because nobody wants to think of their diagnosis as changing who they are,” McCarthy said. “But it has prohibited me from playing endurance-based, contact sports my whole life. I can still feel the impact of it when I engage in physical activities.”
Being a teenage boy, it can be a challenge to fit in while not being allowed to play the normal contact sports like football or hockey.
McCarthy has never even thought about confining to the social norm.
“I used to get made fun of for it, but it’s something that I’ve grown to accept,” he said. “It’s something I’ve grown around.”
McCarthy has gotten creative with his athletic side over the years. Instead of playing a contact sport, McCarthy has decided to pursue another “course” of action: golf.
“Golf has definitely been an outlet for me,” he said. “It allows me to play a sport and be with my peers but not inflame my heart in a way that it can’t handle.”
McCarthy is currently playing golf for the Shores JV golf team and has plans to continue playing throughout high school with, eventually, the varsity team.
McCarthy currently is not medicated for his condition and has never had to go under the knife to correct the defect.
However, in the future, that will change as he will have a total valve replacement at some point in the near future
Ultimately, the decision is up to his cardiologist. There is also a chance surgery will be one of many options and McCarthy could pursue a different route.
“(Having that surgery can be) a little scary, knowing I’ll have to face possibly not waking up and going through the long recovery process, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take to be physically ‘normal,’” he said.
But McCarthy has also studied up on his medical knowledge to know that he shouldn’t let his fears or worries run rampant.
“Especially with the number of advancements in medical technology, my heart could potentially outlast me, valve and all,” he said.
McCarthy said he plans to continue staying up to date with his knowledge on his condition to make sure he knows exactly what’s going on with his cardiovascular system.
McCarthy has spent the better part of his almost-16 years living with a heart defect that has shifted his life.
But McCarthy also accepts that it’s who he is and grown to love his own, unique “beat.”