ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY
MEHMOONA’S STORY
Life is fragile. That realization is never stronger than after an unexpected health scare. For Mehmoona, the realization came with the diagnosis of a tumour growing on her heart. Several months ago, Mehmoona was living a healthy life, hiking with her husband and prepping for a new semester at the University of Victoria where she teaches social work. But one afternoon, as she went to move her arm, her body did not respond. She went to Emergency and within the hour she was diagnosed as having had a stroke. From that moment on, Mehmoona had an entire team of people looking after her. She underwent blood tests, an electrocardiogram of her heart and a MRI of her brain to pinpoint the cause of the stroke and its prognosis. The tests showed she had suffered eight consecutive mini strokes. Luckily, there was no permanent damage. Since the first set of tests did not show any blood clots, she went in for an echocardiogram to find the source of the strokes. At Royal Jubilee Hospital, Mehmoona and her husband met with Dr. Karan Shetty. He sat them down and informed them that she had a myxoma in her heart, a 2cm x 2cm tumour that was clearly visible on the echocardiogram. While the tumour was most likely benign, small fragments of the tumour, or possibly even clots on the surface of the tumour, were breaking off into her bloodstream, causing strokes. Mehmoona had many questions about this diagnosis. Thankfully, Dr. Shetty had answers. She was quickly scheduled for surgery and kept informed throughout the entire process. She had an angiogram of her heart to ensure the rest of it was healthy, and then she underwent a delicate, fourhour procedure to remove the tumour. After her surgery, Mehmoona spent a short time in Royal Jubilee Hospital’s Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit. Eight weeks later, she began a specialized cardiac rehabilitation program. “Everything went exactly as planned. I was amazed by how seamlessly all the different cardiac teams worked together. I was so reassured by that. Today I am getting back to hiking and enjoying the life I had before this all happened. Looking back at the experience, I am grateful for how Dr. Shetty and the team took care of me and how quickly they dealt with the issue. We are so fortunate on Vancouver Island to have access to equipment that helps provide world-class care,” says Mehmoona.