Open Heart surgeries and Neurological problems

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V__ said:
My migraine frequency doubled after surgery. Instead of 2/month it's now 4/month. It's not terribly problematic (and it wasn't an issue previously). But I do record the occasions, so pretty certain of this observation.

About the only preventative measure that helps is hydration, especially in the morning.
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As a kid I had aortic stenosis and surgery was delayed. I had a balloon valvaloplasty when I was 19 yr old. It wasn't sucessful and resulted in aortic regurgiration.
Thats when my migraine started. I tried to discuss with surgeon and other doctors and they all dismissed me saying its not related. Its something else.
I had these bad episodes where I force myself to puke and sleep. I couldnt stand sound and light. Sometimes I felt like putting a bullet through my head when ever it happens. I couldnt just sleep as random thoughts played through my mind. Forced puking was only way to get tired and fall asleep. I dont remember the frequency. May be once or twice in a month.

At the age of 30 I had mechanical valve replacement and the migraine just disappeared. Even if I have a light aura and a headache, it just goes away in a bit. Nothing as bad as what I had before.

Not sure how to conclude here. I did try to discuss this with the new surgeon in a new country but was promptly dissmissed as not related.

Thats my story.
 
As I mentioned in one of the past threads, I started getting optical migraines (the painless kind, aura only) many years before my valve surgery. At the time I got one or two per year. Since the surgery I have gotten one or two per month. My cardiologist had not heard of this; I told him there was plenty of discussion of it on this forum.
 
I had my first ophthalmic migraine 2 days post-MVR. I described it to my surgeon and he didn't understand. After discharge, I stayed at my parents' home for 2 weeks. By then, I had had several more and I described them to my dad, who knew exactly what I was talking about. He had had them too and had even consulted a neuro-ophthalmologist and was told that because they were only auras, not migraine headaches, nothing could be done. I later asked a friend who was a retired professor at an optometry college about them; he said they are caused by a disturbance in blood flow. His mother had a mechanical valve and started having auras post-op.

I did have brain fog post-op -- co-workers' names, events and even my own home address (had to consult my driver's license). Dissipated within about 2-3 months.

MRIs aren't always accurate. My husband, who had symptoms of dementia, had several MRIs and a neurologist said they were normal. After a neuropsychologist ran a test, we finally had a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's, which his mother had also suffered from.
 
Zoltania said:
My cardiologist had not heard of this; I told him there was plenty of discussion of it on this forum.
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my view is that if its not directly related to what they do they're not really interested.

Its also found in the literature as well as discussions here, so its clearly a thing.
 
I also had ocular migraines since I was 13, flashing zigzag lines in one eye followed by a headache, although nowhere near as bad as some.
BAV 2.5 years ago and now have numerous auras (same zigzag lines) but often no headache.
Thought I was the only one!!
 
Paleowoman said:
Yes, the cardiac doctor on the heart ward I was on said they often happen after heart surgery.

I did a search and found link I posted back in 2014 about neurological problems following heart surgery which are due to the heart lung/bypass machine: Neurological Complications Of Heart Surgery I quote one particular sentence of interest: "For example, possible complications from bypass surgery include vision problems, paralysis, hoarseness, movement disorders and disturbances in learning, memory, attention, concentration and mental agility.” (my bold) It doesn't say what the 'vision problems' are.
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This is helpful. Thank you.
 
A couple of months after my surgery I've started having minor tension headaches in the forehead that seem to increase in pain slightly when wearing glasses or headphones during work. Isnt very painful, just annoying.

Never had a migraine post surgery, had floater two times maybe. They cleared after a couple glasses of water.
 
paulyhand44 said:
Hello all,

I'm new here and tried searching forums but didn't notice any discussions. I apologize for my lack of medical terms.
Has anyone encountered neurological issues potentially related to being on the bypass machine during heart surgery.
I've had 3 different brain scans that have all come back as "abnormal" but my current neurologist said she couldn't give a clinical diagnosis since it appeared to effect all parts of the brain and not just certain sections as seen with most patients. I'm getting a 2nd opinion obviously but just wondering if anyone has encountered issues. A friend of the family is an anesthesiologist and says that it happens during surgery while hooking up the bypass machine but surgeons generally won't discuss it.

I've had 2 surgeries (tissue valves 1st time and mechanical 2nd time) and a TIA due to mitral valve stenosis

Thanks for your time
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I have had two open heart surgeries in less than 9 months last year. Born with a Bicuspid Aortic Valve and then an aneurysm of 4.5 I had the first surgery November 29, 2021. I had Grand Mal seizure on April 30, 2022 and they did EKG, MRI, etc. I got a blood infection in May 2022 and had to repeat the entire surgery since the blool infection destroyed the new valve and Aorta. After the second surgery August 22, 2022 I had another Grand Mal seizure on December 15, 2022. I've been on Keppra ever since (horrible medication) and don't like it with horrible side effects. I did have an EEG in December and then an Ambulatory EEG last month in June 2023. They found absolutely nothing. I've decreased the Keppra down to 375mg, which is a very low dose according to the two Neurologists I've seen. They have no idea why these seizures occurred and both took place 4, 5 months after the surgery. I believe it is the heart/lung machine, but I'm not a medical Dr. I never had a seizure before OHS.
 
Redone said:
I have had two open heart surgeries in less than 9 months last year. Born with a Bicuspid Aortic Valve and then an aneurysm of 4.5 I had the first surgery November 29, 2021. I had Grand Mal seizure on April 30, 2022 and they did EKG, MRI, etc. I got a blood infection in May 2022 and had to repeat the entire surgery since the blool infection destroyed the new valve and Aorta. After the second surgery August 22, 2022 I had another Grand Mal seizure on December 15, 2022. I've been on Keppra ever since (horrible medication) and don't like it with horrible side effects. I did have an EEG in December and then an Ambulatory EEG last month in June 2023. They found absolutely nothing. I've decreased the Keppra down to 375mg, which is a very low dose according to the two Neurologists I've seen. They have no idea why these seizures occurred and both took place 4, 5 months after the surgery. I believe it is the heart/lung machine, but I'm not a medical Dr. I never had a seizure before OHS.
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I wish you tremendously good luck in the rest of your life journey and no further complications with your heart. That is very rough hand you were dealt in a short time!
 
Redone said:
hey found absolutely nothing. I've decreased the Keppra down to 375mg, which is a very low dose according to the two Neurologists I've seen. They have no idea why these seizures occurred and both took place 4, 5 months after the surgery.
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that's a bummer. Have you discussed (with your Drt) he desire to gradually wean off it entirely in slow stages?

I sure would.
 
pellicle said:
that's a bummer. Have you discussed (with your Drt) he desire to gradually wean off it entirely in slow stages?

I sure would.
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Yes, she said for Grand Mal seizures I am well below the recommended dose. Unfortunately, all they see is the seizures and when there's no evidence of where they're coming from they keep you on the medication. I'm the one weaning down the drug. I told her I was.
 
paulyhand44 said:
Hello all,

I'm new here and tried searching forums but didn't notice any discussions. I apologize for my lack of medical terms.
Has anyone encountered neurological issues potentially related to being on the bypass machine during heart surgery.
I've had 3 different brain scans that have all come back as "abnormal" but my current neurologist said she couldn't give a clinical diagnosis since it appeared to effect all parts of the brain and not just certain sections as seen with most patients. I'm getting a 2nd opinion obviously but just wondering if anyone has encountered issues. A friend of the family is an anesthesiologist and says that it happens during surgery while hooking up the bypass machine but surgeons generally won't discuss it.

I've had 2 surgeries (tissue valves 1st time and mechanical 2nd time) and a TIA due to mitral valve stenosis

Thanks for your time
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I had cognitive issues after surgery. For example I couldn't do simple math, such as tips, in my head. I have more trouble remembering names. It slowly got better, but never fully back to normal. I have had two neurologists since the valve replacement for other problems. Both of them said "pump head syndrome" was not common but known. There is no treatment that they'd recommend other than the medication called "time."
 
pellicle said:
...then they want to make sure you don't blame them for suggesting that it's OK to reduce.

I did the same last year after ten years of antibiotics
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I had a friend that was on too many drugs (not heart drugs) she told her doctor that she wanted to have a baby. Her doctor helped her get off the drugs. She already had three children and didn't want anymore children.
 
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