Thumping in chest

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Pat

Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Messages
11
Location
cal.
I'm 53 years old and am 2.5 months out of surgery for a replacement mechanical valve and pacemaker put in. lately i have been hearing a thumping in my chest. At night it makes it difficult to sleep because i keep thinking about it. I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue?
Thanks Pat
 
I'm 53 years old and am 2.5 months out of surgery for a replacement mechanical valve and pacemaker put in. lately i have been hearing a thumping in my chest. At night it makes it difficult to sleep because i keep thinking about it. I was wondering if anyone else has had this issue?
Thanks Pat
Hi Pat:

So, you are saying this has gotten louder lately. Please check with your cardiologist. Maybe you BP is up. Maybe you have become slightly anemic. I'm just throwing things out there to suggest that the important things is to be checked.

I'm only 4 weeks post op and my valve is usually pretty quiet except when I lie down. So, like you, it bothers me when trying to go to sleep. I'm HOPING/expecting it will get quieter over time as post-surgical anemia continues to correct and my heart gets stronger and healing around the valve muffles it. In the meantime, I have been taking a tiny dose (1mg) of lorazepam at night which allows me to calm down, get more drowsy and eventually ignore the thumping and gets me a good night's sleep.

Please talk to your cardiologist or his/her staff. Hopefully they will find a solution that will allow you to get more sleep.

Good luck!
 
Hi, as I remember I had a phase, beginning a few months after surgery and lasting matbe some months, where my valve had a loud/heavy "thumping sound" especially noticeable in bed. It was even like I felt the impact from the valve closing. Then it gradually settled down and has now been ticking for years ;)
 
I have a friend who has a pacemaker(never had OHS though) and it took him a very long time to be comfortable with it. However, if there is a change in the way your heart is beating,you are uncomfortable,or in pain,then you should have it assessed by your doctor.
-Dina
 
Yes, I notice the thumping much more after my surgery than before, and it has definitely increased as my heart has gotten stronger. I still use a small, but thick and soft pillow against my chest, and always go to sleep on my right side, to lessen the thumping. It's not so much the ticking that can annoy me, I can't hear that through my down comforter, but the feeling/sound of thumping. I am on Carvedilol 2x25mg (beta-blocker) and Lisinopril 2x5mg. My BP is good, heart rate averaging slowly downwards, probably measured too frequently, but both go up with anxiety. So does the thumping :)

I woke up one early morning a few weeks ago to a badly thumping heart. Since then I always think my heart beats faster and much more noticeable when I wake, than when I go to sleep, and I was worried for a while. Then I had the regularly scheduled 3-month echocardiogram that showed everything was working as expected. So it has gotten better just from knowing that, but I still have a hard time staying in bed for long after I wake, which would have been nice on a weekend once in a while.

Karl.
 
my cardio had said that i could try stopping my BB, but i refused since it helps to control my wildly thumping valve.
No clicking....lots of thumping, and force. Maybe i am just excitable....;)
 
hi there! im almost 6 months post op with mechanical valve (ats) in the aoritc position. I have the thumping still at night and when I wake up. im still on metroprolol (beta blocker) - i sleep on my left side- i know most people do right for some reason mine has always been less noticeable on my left! with a pillow on top of my chest to muffle the sound. and until two weeks ago i was taking xanax before bed to put me to sleep but the last few weeks i havent had any trouble falling asleep- even though there is still some mile thumping! im still praying that in another 6 months time it will really diminish even more. and getting that 3 month post op check up can releive some stress- its just normal i guess. the new normal right? here is to hoping that all of our thumps go away enough to let us sleep with some peace!

Megan
 
Thanks Karl, i feel better knowing that it's not just me that hears the thumping. I going to try sleeping with a pillow on my chest to see if that helps. I have been going to Physical Therapy 3 times a week and that is going well. My BP has been doing better so i know thats not the problem. I do seem to check my BP to much. I cant wait for when i will be able to sleep on my stomach again.
 
and getting that 3 month post op check up can releive some stress- its just normal i guess. the new normal right? here is to hoping that all of our thumps go away enough to let us sleep with some peace!

Megan

The new normal - a good way to describe it I think. I haven't had my surgery yet and dont' know when I will, but it seems to me that afterwards you would never be your old normal again - but a brand new normal. Hopefully a new better normal eventually!

Pat, I'm hoping you get some relief and some good sleep soon!
 
The new normal, indeed. We notice with annoyance any small change to our bodies.. but we get used to it. It's only to be expected we notice a re-modeled heart trying the best it can to get used to new working conditions. It's perhaps also telling us: "hey, I'd prefer you didn't do that to me again..!".
 
The new normal - a good way to describe it I think. I haven't had my surgery yet and dont' know when I will, but it seems to me that afterwards you would never be your old normal again - but a brand new normal. Hopefully a new better normal eventually!

Pat, I'm hoping you get some relief and some good sleep soon!

I guess we hear new things that we never paid much attention to before the surgery. Now i must be over sensitive to the new sounds and feelings. The good sounds that let us know we are alive.
 
In this last week, I met with both my Surgeon and my Cardio and the first question I asked was about the THUMPING. They both said the same thing. A certain amount of the thumping sensation is to be expected as the heart adjusts to its new condition following AVR. This may be exacerbated when taking Metoprolol which many of us are given to reduce pulse rate and lower blood pressure. If the thumping is not associated with other symptoms, it should ease over time. On the other hand, if the thumping seems to leave you feeling tired or ill then you should bring it to your Doctor's attention right away. My own is now associated with activity, particularly, after I have been quiet for some time.

Pat, have you also noticed that you can feel your pulse very strongly at your wrist? I used to have some difficulty feeling my own pulse but not any more. I find it very reassuring to have such an indicator that my heart is now getting back to normal.
 
In this last week, I met with both my Surgeon and my Cardio and the first question I asked was about the THUMPING. They both said the same thing. A certain amount of the thumping sensation is to be expected as the heart adjusts to its new condition following AVR. This may be exacerbated when taking Metoprolol which many of us are given to reduce pulse rate and lower blood pressure. If the thumping is not associated with other symptoms, it should ease over time. On the other hand, if the thumping seems to leave you feeling tired or ill then you should bring it to your Doctor's attention right away. My own is now associated with activity, particularly, after I have been quiet for some time.

Pat, have you also noticed that you can feel your pulse very strongly at your wrist? I used to have some difficulty feeling my own pulse but not any more. I find it very reassuring to have such an indicator that my heart is now getting back to normal.

Yes i have. I notice alot of new things now that i did'nt pay much attention to before.
 
At 3 weeks out at my follow up with the surgeon I asked him about the hard heartbeat I was having (thumping). He said the heart got used to working harder to compensate for the leaky valve. And that in time it would calm down.I am 9 weeks out now and it still thumps but, is starting to get better (as he said it would).
 
I am in the same boat. Mine thumps from time to time and to goes back to tick, tick, tick...... I just keep tellling myself that I would not be here if it were not for those noises.

Karl
 
I have a tissue valve, but oh did it ever thump for quiet awhile! It has really calmed down since my surgery. (AVR Feb 2008) For several months I also took a very low dose of Alprazolam for sleeping. I do occasionally get fluttering. I've been checked by my cardio, and eveything seems to be okay. He said that the fluttering is not that uncommon with VR patients, and not to worry!
 

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