Hi Everyone, I have some questions!

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CathyK.

As Darik has posted, I has surgery on Friday the 9th and was home on Monday the 12th. Did wake up on the vent which was awful, had to have a couple of blood transfusions before they could take me off. After that everything was great until Monday the 19th. My heart started beating irregular off and on. I went to the doctor for an EKG on Tuesday and of course it was not doing it at that time so nothing showed up. It started again so they put a 24 hour halter monitor on me Wed. and boy has it been jumping around every day. I am waiting to hear something today. Has any of you had this problem after surgery? What did they do? I was feeling great until this started. Now I feel alot more drained and irritated because I can feel that irregular beating. Any help?

Thanks for all the well wishes!
 
Hi Cathy! I'm so glad you posted something as I've been noticing that you weren't around and was worried!!

The same exact thing happened to me, only later in my recovery (at about a month out). The monitor revealed benign arythmmias and the beta blocker I was already on (Atenolol) was upped in dosage. I went so far as to have an echo done because my cardio was out of town at the time and the "rhythm specialist" couldn't be sure from my descriptions that I was not in a-fib. We all want to avoid a-fib (atrilal fibrillation). Nothing. all benign PVC's and PAC's (premature ventricular and atrial contractions).

They were definitely VERY annoying and frightening after awhile. I've chalked it up to my heart wanting to dance for joy at being fixed, and like a little child, just getting kind of out of control for awhile! :p At one point I actually thought I could see the thing beating out of my chest like a cartoon heart!! It was wild. Not fun.

So good luck. Let us know what the report says. Fingers crossed you're just like me and it's all just a dance! :D

Marguerite
 
Thanks Marguerite - I have my fingers crossed also. I know what you mean about your heart jumping out. That is what I am feeling also. Let's hope it is benign PVC's. I will let you know what I find out.
 
Keeping my fingers crossed that his is benign and just your new equipment settling in, Cathy. Keep us informed and best wishes!
 
Cathy, I know it's frightening. What you are experiencing is common. Your heart had surgery! :eek: It was cut into and opened up and had things done to it. The heart does not like to be man-handled, nor does it like it's housing (the body) to be monkeyed with and it has it's way of letting you know it's not happy. :cool: You were spot-on in calling your cardio about it. And of course it behaved itself in the office (mine always did!:rolleyes: ). I'm glad you had the Holter Monitor done. They will be able to tell exactly what type of arrhythmia you are getting. Sometimes they'll put you on a medication to get you through the initial stages of recovery. A few people end up needing something past that, but many find that after a few months the heart becomes happy again.:D
 
Thanks Phyllis and Karlynn - I knew that your heart could do this and I really wanted the Surgeon to tell me that it is okay and it will work its way out of this but I guess he wants to be sure of what it is doing first. Anyway, that is the reply I hope to get today. Will let you all know.
 
I developed post-op A-fib a week after surgery and it just beat the heck out of me! My family doctor put me on an EKG machine and I was "clocked" at 198 beats per minute:eek:! They tried some meds on me but I had to be rehospitalized to get rid of it. Hope you feel better soon. Post again when you can.
 
Hi, Cathy! You sure got in and out of that hospital fast! I think you may have tied David Fortune for the record for short hospital stays.

I hope your heartbeat settles down into a good rhythm soon.

I didn't experience *exactly* what you're talking about, but for a few weeks after surgery my heart was beating so hard that at times I thought it was going to pop right through my scar and do a jig on my chest.

Dr. Stelzer told me that such a strong beat is common after OHS, said that sometimes people feel like their bodies are, "shaking like an old Chevy that needs a tune up," and said that it would subside with time. Mine did... I hope yours does, too.

Welcome home! :) :) :)
 
Cathy, great to see you again!

Cathy, great to see you again!

Hi Cathy, glad you're back posting. Remind me if you will which valve you had done. Mine was Mitral.

Anyway, about a week after I got home (which was a Mon-Sun stay so no records here like yours), my heart rhythm switched over to a-fib :confused: . Beats the daylights out of me, the Dr. says a-fib can cause "problems with stamina" - geez that's an understatement! One day I could walk a flight of stairs just fine, the next I had to stop twice to catch my breath.

You'll see in other threads that I've been put on amnioderone (spelling?) which is a strong rhythm drug. I also got put on Coumadin. That happened about 2 weeks ago. The cardio is hoping the drug will reset the rhythm, otherwise there are more dramatic options like cardioversion.

Before the surgery I had the pesky PVCs which felt very similar, like my heart trying to leap out of my chest or a herd of mice running about in there.

I do think that our hearts don't appreciate the surgery at first. After years of adapting to a leaky mitral valve my atrium grew larger. Then one day the leak just stopped. Now my atrium is pissed. I can understand. I'm hopeful this all resolves in time but right this moment I'm not feeling so great.

I wish you all the best, keep us posted, OK?

Ruth
 
Afib hit me good about 8 weeks after surgery. It only lasted 3 days, but man, is that ever an unsettling feeling. Yeap, it's common.
 
I had tachycardia about 10-14 days post-op. Could barely talk. The first bout occurred during the day, when I was staying with my parents. We called my surgeon & cardio, who said it's not unusual to have such. The episode lasted about 1 hour. I had bought a sphygmomanometer the day I left the hospital, so my dad was able to monitor my BP and my RN sister checked my pulse.

I had several episodes. I think the last one was about July 18, not quite 4 weeks post-op.
 
Hi Cathy

Tyce, my husband, had the same thing. His was a-fib and he got it not quite a week post op. It was confirmed by an echo and our cardio. He upped Tyce's amiodorone, it set it back into normal rhythm, he discontinued the amiodarone---well actually weaned off it, and has been fine ever since. Tyce's cardio said it is quite common post op. You did the right thing by going to your cardio. Don't get too crazy and I hope you hear today.

Good luck.

Evelyn
 
Cathy.. so glad that you are home..
I too had some crazy rhythms for about 2mo post op.. some was A-fib some were PVC and PAC's..

things eventually settled down.
However every night at 8:30.. I get irregular beats till about 10:30.. who knows why?

My surgeon told me that the heart does not like to be touched..and they do lots of manipulating in there..and sometimes it takes it awhile to settle down.
Hoping that your tests all come back with good results.
 
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