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Kristen Cox
Kristen is like many other girls her age, dabbling in gymnastics and spending time at the Rappahannock River with her friends. But one thing sets her apart from others her age. Kristen was born with a congenital heart disease called sub-aortic stenosis and has already undergone four open heart surgeries.
Kristen was diagnosed with sub-aortic stenosis at 18-months-old. Sub-aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the area below the aortic valve causing the left ventricle to work harder to pump blood past the narrow region into the aorta. The narrowing tends to progress as the child gets older and if the stenosis is severe they tire easily.
Kristen had her first open heart surgery at age five, at nine her second, her third at 12 and at 14 years-old she is healing from the fourth. During the first three surgeries doctors have gone in and opened a valve in her aorta. Because of her youth, her heart is still growing and causing the valve to slowly close up, resulting in the need for another surgery. During her last surgery, the doctors did a procedure called the Ross/Konno. In this procedure, they took her good pulmonary valve and placed it in the aortic valve position. They put in a donor valve in the pulmonary valve position. The aortic valve should not need to be replaced again. The donor pulmonary valve will have to be replaced in 10-15 years.
The only limitations Kristen experiences from the disease are physical ones. She cannot participate in contact sports and gets tired easily. Kristen loves gymnastics and can't wait to get back into it once she has healed.
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Kristen Cox
Kristen is like many other girls her age, dabbling in gymnastics and spending time at the Rappahannock River with her friends. But one thing sets her apart from others her age. Kristen was born with a congenital heart disease called sub-aortic stenosis and has already undergone four open heart surgeries.
Kristen was diagnosed with sub-aortic stenosis at 18-months-old. Sub-aortic stenosis is a narrowing of the area below the aortic valve causing the left ventricle to work harder to pump blood past the narrow region into the aorta. The narrowing tends to progress as the child gets older and if the stenosis is severe they tire easily.
Kristen had her first open heart surgery at age five, at nine her second, her third at 12 and at 14 years-old she is healing from the fourth. During the first three surgeries doctors have gone in and opened a valve in her aorta. Because of her youth, her heart is still growing and causing the valve to slowly close up, resulting in the need for another surgery. During her last surgery, the doctors did a procedure called the Ross/Konno. In this procedure, they took her good pulmonary valve and placed it in the aortic valve position. They put in a donor valve in the pulmonary valve position. The aortic valve should not need to be replaced again. The donor pulmonary valve will have to be replaced in 10-15 years.
The only limitations Kristen experiences from the disease are physical ones. She cannot participate in contact sports and gets tired easily. Kristen loves gymnastics and can't wait to get back into it once she has healed.
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