Dr. Edward "Chip" Martin is Carly Smith's superhero.
Dr. Edward “Chip” Martin
"My hero is cardiologist Dr. Chip (Edward Martin). I am 18 years old, and I was born with congenital heart disease. The particular defect I was born with is called aortic stenosis and a bicuspid aortic valve. I also have some leakage and enlargement of my aorta.
I was originally being seen elsewhere. My condition remained stable for a very long time, but at about 14 years old I started having a lot of trouble exercising because of shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, and palpitations. My cardiologist told me numerous times that I was fine, my heart isn't severe enough to cause symptoms, I have asthma, I'm out of shape, it was in my head. I felt like I was going crazy.
After many cardiologists, pulmonologists, general doctors, and a lot of stress, I finally decided to see Dr. Chip. I first met Dr. Chip when I was 11 years old. I attended Camp Odayin, a camp for kids with heart disease. I was a camper at this camp for 8 years, and Dr. Chip was one of the volunteer cardiologists. He was always happy and fun.
This past year I finally got the idea to go see Dr. Chip for another opinion on my heart. Though my heart once again seemed to be fine, he decided to trust me and sent me for an echo stress test. It was during this test that we found out that though my heart was fine at rest, it got way worse during exercise. All of my numbers doubled, showing significant obstruction. I am now going to have a cardiac catheter and ballooning of my valve. I am also possibly going to have the Ross Procedure to replace my valve (if the balloon doesn't work or last). After almost 5 years of struggling with my symptoms and having extreme fatigue, I have finally gotten answers and am on my way to getting better. I may never have gotten answers if I had not gone to see Dr. Chip. Dr. Chip is amazing, and he is truly my hero."
—Carly Smith
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