A man is searching for answers after his son and daughter are diagnosed with a congenital heart condition known as bicuspid aortic valve.
Several years ago, Will Campbell left his legal profession behind to pursue a job as a tennis instructor in Little Rock.
"My son who is going off to college to play tennis at DePaul University," Campbell says.
But Will may have passed along more than just his love of the game.
"He went in for a routine physical examination and the doctor noticed a heart murmur," Campbell says of his son.
"In a person who is older, we hear innocent heart murmurs all of the time," says Cardiologist Dr. C. Douglas Borg. "They are to be expected, minor valvular leakage is not a problem. But in younger people, it is unusual."
Further testing revealed Will's son has a bicuspid aortic valve, a common congenital heart abnormality that can run in families.
"Aortic valves are usually tricuspid. It should have three leaves on it. His only has two and that puts him at risk for valvular problems down the road," Dr. Borg says.
"Then he came to see Dr. Borg and got a transesophageal echocardiogram, and that revealed that the leakage was relatively mild and it probably wouldn't impact his playing college tennis," Campbell says. "After that, Dr. Borg recommended that my daughter Elizabeth be tested and she had the same bicuspid heart valve defect."
Today, Will is having an echocardiogram to find out if he may have passed on the genetic defect.
"It's an ultrasound. It uses soundwaves, no radiation," says Dr. Borg. "The idea is that we can get moving pictures of the heart. We can get color pictures of the valves and look for leakage or we can actually measure pressures inside of the heart. We're looking for chamber sizes and function."
Good news for Will, his heart is normal, but it still doesn't provide answers for his son and daughter.
Both will be monitored, and as long as they're asymptomatic, tennis can continue to be a family hobby.
Most of the time, bicuspid aortic valve causes no symptoms. But, some signs to watch for, especially in children, include chest pain, difficulty breathing, pale skin and a child who tires easily.
Several years ago, Will Campbell left his legal profession behind to pursue a job as a tennis instructor in Little Rock.
"My son who is going off to college to play tennis at DePaul University," Campbell says.
But Will may have passed along more than just his love of the game.
"He went in for a routine physical examination and the doctor noticed a heart murmur," Campbell says of his son.
"In a person who is older, we hear innocent heart murmurs all of the time," says Cardiologist Dr. C. Douglas Borg. "They are to be expected, minor valvular leakage is not a problem. But in younger people, it is unusual."
Further testing revealed Will's son has a bicuspid aortic valve, a common congenital heart abnormality that can run in families.
"Aortic valves are usually tricuspid. It should have three leaves on it. His only has two and that puts him at risk for valvular problems down the road," Dr. Borg says.
"Then he came to see Dr. Borg and got a transesophageal echocardiogram, and that revealed that the leakage was relatively mild and it probably wouldn't impact his playing college tennis," Campbell says. "After that, Dr. Borg recommended that my daughter Elizabeth be tested and she had the same bicuspid heart valve defect."
Today, Will is having an echocardiogram to find out if he may have passed on the genetic defect.
"It's an ultrasound. It uses soundwaves, no radiation," says Dr. Borg. "The idea is that we can get moving pictures of the heart. We can get color pictures of the valves and look for leakage or we can actually measure pressures inside of the heart. We're looking for chamber sizes and function."
Good news for Will, his heart is normal, but it still doesn't provide answers for his son and daughter.
Both will be monitored, and as long as they're asymptomatic, tennis can continue to be a family hobby.
Most of the time, bicuspid aortic valve causes no symptoms. But, some signs to watch for, especially in children, include chest pain, difficulty breathing, pale skin and a child who tires easily.
