Faith &mdash; Mitchell Report https://michaelmitchell.blog/tag:Faith A personal blog for Michael Mitchell Thu, 06 Aug 2026 13:57:55 +0000 Echo Results Looking Good https://michaelmitchell.blog/echo-results-looking-good?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[A middle-aged man with dark hair and glasses sits at a wooden desk in a warmly lit room, looking thoughtfully at a paper he holds with both hands. The paper features a red heart with a white heartbeat line and a green upward trending graph. He wears a blue button-up shirt. On the desk in front of him is an open notebook with handwritten notes and a black pen resting on it. To his right is a tall glass of iced tea with a lime wedge on the rim. To his left, a small potted plant and a framed sign read "Grateful Stronger Moving Forward" with a small red heart at the bottom. Behind him on the wall is a framed picture of a red heart with a heartbeat line and the words "Progress Patience Purpose." A laptop on a side table displays a similar graph. Books titled "The Healing Heart" and "A Path to Wellness" are stacked near the window, through which sunlight filters, casting a warm glow. The overall atmosphere is calm and reflective. smallA man reflects with quiet satisfaction as he reviews positive echo results, surrounded by reminders of gratitude, strength, and progress in a warm, sunlit room./small I wanted to share a long-overdue health update about what has happened this year and why I can finally talk about it. I recently had my second Camzyos cardiology echo and doctor’s visit of the year. I normally go every six months, and this visit gave me my best numbers yet. On Camzyos, my obstruction is much better controlled. My echo looked fantastic, so I included a table below comparing my results before and after starting Camzyos. When I first started Camzyos, I was not getting my refills consistently because of REMS requirements and the timing of my echoes and doctor’s visits. This created gaps in treatment. Once my refills became consistent and those delays stopped, the treatment began working much better. !--more-- br div style="overflow-x:auto" table theadtrthTime point/thth style="text-align:right"Camzyos status/thth style="text-align:right"Ejection fraction/thth style="text-align:right"LVOT gradient at rest/thth style="text-align:right"LVOT gradient with Valsalva / provocation/ththMitral valve / SAM notes/ththWhat changed/th/tr/thead tbodytrtdApr. 2021/tdtd style="text-align:right"Before Camzyos/tdtd style="text-align:right"65-70%/tdtd style="text-align:right"90 mmHg/tdtd style="text-align:right"94 mmHg/tdtdSystolic anterior motion (SAM); mild-to-moderate mitral regurgitation/tdtdHistorical severe obstruction/td/trtrtdAug. 2024/tdtd style="text-align:right"Before Camzyos/tdtd style="text-align:right"60-65%/tdtd style="text-align:right"27 mmHg/tdtd style="text-align:right"51 mmHg/tdtdSAM; moderate mitral regurgitation/tdtdStill obstructive, though less severe than 2021/td/trtrtdMay 2025/tdtd style="text-align:right"Before starting Camzyos protocol/tdtd style="text-align:right"50-55%/tdtd style="text-align:right"65 mmHg/tdtd style="text-align:right"100 mmHg/tdtdSAM; mild mitral regurgitation/tdtdStrong pre-treatment baseline: significant obstruction/td/trtrtdJul. 2025/tdtd style="text-align:right"Early Camzyos follow-up/tdtd style="text-align:right"60-65%/tdtd style="text-align:right"Not listed in summary/tdtd style="text-align:right"57 mmHg/tdtdTrace mitral regurgitation/tdtdEarly improvement from the May 2025 provoked gradient/td/trtrtdAug.-Nov. 2025/tdtd style="text-align:right"On Camzyos, still being adjusted/monitored/tdtd style="text-align:right"60-65% where listed/tdtd style="text-align:right"Varied; one report listed 39 mmHg/tdtd style="text-align:right"Varied, including 84-145 mmHg in follow-up echoes/tdtdMitral regurgitation generally mild or not significant in these reports/tdtdImprovement was not a perfectly straight line/td/trtrtdJan. 2026/tdtd style="text-align:right"On Camzyos/tdtd style="text-align:right"60-65%/tdtd style="text-align:right"10 mmHg/tdtd style="text-align:right"24 mmHg/tdtdNo major valve issue highlighted in the summary/tdtdObstruction was much lower than the May 2025 baseline/td/trtrtdJun. 2026/tdtd style="text-align:right"On Camzyos, latest echo/tdtd style="text-align:right"55-60%/tdtd style="text-align:right"3 mmHg/tdtd style="text-align:right"8 mmHg/tdtdMild SAM noted, but “no outflow obstruction”; mild mitral regurgitation/tdtdBest documented result in this set: very low gradients/td/tr/tbody /table /div So yes, I am in a much better place. My heart is working with far less obstruction than it has in years. Between Camzyos and taking Metoprolol ER 200 mg twice daily, I am cautiously optimistic that I can remain on this path. These results do not mean that my hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is gone, but they do show that the treatment is doing what it is supposed to do. After years of seeing much higher numbers, I am grateful to finally be able to share some genuinely encouraging news. #faith #health #personal p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/echo-results-looking-good"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> A middle-aged man with dark hair and glasses sits at a wooden desk in a warmly lit room, looking thoughtfully at a paper he holds with both hands. The paper features a red heart with a white heartbeat line and a green upward trending graph. He wears a blue button-up shirt. On the desk in front of him is an open notebook with handwritten notes and a black pen resting on it. To his right is a tall glass of iced tea with a lime wedge on the rim. To his left, a small potted plant and a framed sign read "Grateful Stronger Moving Forward" with a small red heart at the bottom. Behind him on the wall is a framed picture of a red heart with a heartbeat line and the words "Progress Patience Purpose." A laptop on a side table displays a similar graph. Books titled "The Healing Heart" and "A Path to Wellness" are stacked near the window, through which sunlight filters, casting a warm glow. The overall atmosphere is calm and reflective.

A man reflects with quiet satisfaction as he reviews positive echo results, surrounded by reminders of gratitude, strength, and progress in a warm, sunlit room.

I wanted to share a long-overdue health update about what has happened this year and why I can finally talk about it. I recently had my second Camzyos cardiology echo and doctor’s visit of the year. I normally go every six months, and this visit gave me my best numbers yet.

On Camzyos, my obstruction is much better controlled. My echo looked fantastic, so I included a table below comparing my results before and after starting Camzyos.

When I first started Camzyos, I was not getting my refills consistently because of REMS requirements and the timing of my echoes and doctor’s visits. This created gaps in treatment. Once my refills became consistent and those delays stopped, the treatment began working much better.


Time pointCamzyos statusEjection fractionLVOT gradient at restLVOT gradient with Valsalva / provocationMitral valve / SAM notesWhat changed
Apr. 2021Before Camzyos65-70%90 mmHg94 mmHgSystolic anterior motion (SAM); mild-to-moderate mitral regurgitationHistorical severe obstruction
Aug. 2024Before Camzyos60-65%27 mmHg51 mmHgSAM; moderate mitral regurgitationStill obstructive, though less severe than 2021
May 2025Before starting Camzyos protocol50-55%65 mmHg100 mmHgSAM; mild mitral regurgitationStrong pre-treatment baseline: significant obstruction
Jul. 2025Early Camzyos follow-up60-65%Not listed in summary57 mmHgTrace mitral regurgitationEarly improvement from the May 2025 provoked gradient
Aug.-Nov. 2025On Camzyos, still being adjusted/monitored60-65% where listedVaried; one report listed 39 mmHgVaried, including 84-145 mmHg in follow-up echoesMitral regurgitation generally mild or not significant in these reportsImprovement was not a perfectly straight line
Jan. 2026On Camzyos60-65%10 mmHg24 mmHgNo major valve issue highlighted in the summaryObstruction was much lower than the May 2025 baseline
Jun. 2026On Camzyos, latest echo55-60%3 mmHg8 mmHgMild SAM noted, but “no outflow obstruction”; mild mitral regurgitationBest documented result in this set: very low gradients

So yes, I am in a much better place. My heart is working with far less obstruction than it has in years. Between Camzyos and taking Metoprolol ER 200 mg twice daily, I am cautiously optimistic that I can remain on this path.

These results do not mean that my hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is gone, but they do show that the treatment is doing what it is supposed to do. After years of seeing much higher numbers, I am grateful to finally be able to share some genuinely encouraging news.

#faith #health #personal

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/echo-results-looking-good Sat, 11 Jul 2026 04:23:13 +0000 2025 has been a difficult year so far, particularly for California with the... https://michaelmitchell.blog/2025-has-been-a-difficult-year-so-far-particularly-for-california-with-the?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[ 2025 has been a difficult year so far, particularly for California with the devastating wildfires. I really hope the LA area gets the fires under control and that more people don't lose their lives or property. Let's pray for a calmer remainder of the year. #2025 #CaliforniaWildfires #Faith #Prayer p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/2025-has-been-a-difficult-year-so-far-particularly-for-california-with-the"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> 2025 has been a difficult year so far, particularly for California with the devastating wildfires. I really hope the LA area gets the fires under control and that more people don't lose their lives or property. Let's pray for a calmer remainder of the year.

#2025 #CaliforniaWildfires #Faith #Prayer

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/2025-has-been-a-difficult-year-so-far-particularly-for-california-with-the Fri, 10 Jan 2025 03:36:51 +0000 Thanksgiving is almost done for 2024. https://michaelmitchell.blog/thanksgiving-is-almost-done-for-2024?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[Thanksgiving is almost done for 2024. I have been thinking of what I am thankful for this year. Number 1 thing I am thankful for is my salvation that our Lord and Savior Jesus gave us all. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful Jesus has improved my health this year through the knowledge and wisdom of my doctors. I am thankful Jesus provides me with a job so that I can meet my needs and enjoy some extras, even though I probably have too many things. So I have a lot I am thankful for and hope and pray that Jesus carries me forward into 2025 with the list above and improvement. I really want to expand my technology knowledge level. That is a main goal for next year. But I think the biggest goal for next year is to chip away at significant portions of debt. As I approach retirement, I need to eliminate my debts. Well I hope everyone else enjoyed their 2024 Thanksgiving Day and got as stuffed on food as I did. Looking forward to the new year personally, and as always reflecting on what has come this year so far and just thankful. #Thanksgiving #TechGoals #Faith p style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 0.95em; font-family: Georgia, serif; color: #0c5c35; line-height: 1.8;" span class="tinylytics_kudos"/span 💬 a href="https://remark.as/p/michaelmitchell.blog/thanksgiving-is-almost-done-for-2024"Discuss.../a a href="mailto:michaelm2@michaelmitchell.blog" style="color:#0c5c35;text-decoration:none"✉️ Email/a 🦣 a href="https://writing.exchange/@michaelm2" rel="me" style="color: #0c5c35; text-decoration: none;"Reply on Mastodon/a /p !--emailsub--]]> Thanksgiving is almost done for 2024. I have been thinking of what I am thankful for this year. Number 1 thing I am thankful for is my salvation that our Lord and Savior Jesus gave us all. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful Jesus has improved my health this year through the knowledge and wisdom of my doctors. I am thankful Jesus provides me with a job so that I can meet my needs and enjoy some extras, even though I probably have too many things.

So I have a lot I am thankful for and hope and pray that Jesus carries me forward into 2025 with the list above and improvement. I really want to expand my technology knowledge level. That is a main goal for next year. But I think the biggest goal for next year is to chip away at significant portions of debt. As I approach retirement, I need to eliminate my debts.

Well I hope everyone else enjoyed their 2024 Thanksgiving Day and got as stuffed on food as I did. Looking forward to the new year personally, and as always reflecting on what has come this year so far and just thankful. #Thanksgiving #TechGoals #Faith

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]]> https://michaelmitchell.blog/thanksgiving-is-almost-done-for-2024 Fri, 29 Nov 2024 04:54:10 +0000