Tom Walski
Member
My Personal Fact Sheet
Date Of Birth 6 Dec 1950
Suffered from Mitral Valve prolapse
Underwent Mitral Valve repair surgery 27 Dec 2002.
Surgery ?successful?. Some post operative complications ? some pleural effusion
Athletic performance (running/biking) became significantly worse after surgery
Here are my running times from a 5 mile (8K) race I?ve competed in numerous times.
Year Time Age
1990 31:06 39
1991 31:05 40
1992 31:25 41
1993 31:14 42
1994 31:54 43
1997 32:18 46
1998 32:47 47
2000 32:52 49
2001 32:51 50
Surgery
2003 37:02 52
2004 36:24 53
2005 38:10 54
2006 38:34 55
2008 39:05 57
You can?t help but notice that the valve repair surgery seems to have really hurt my running performance.
Had exercise treadmill test and spec imaging before and after surgery
Pre-surgery Post-surgery
(2 months) (8 months)
Ejection fraction 48 49
Diastolic volume 276 176
Systolic volume 144 91
Ejection volume 132 85
Diastolic BP 120 100
Systolic BP 80 70
I had some anemia after surgery
Pre-surgery Post-surgery
Hemoglobin 15-14.5 8.6 increase to 14 after 1 year
Had several blood tests. Tested feces for blood and CT scan of spleen. Condition normal.
Had three instances of pleurisy since surgery.
I realize that I am slowing down with age but the huge drop in performance as a result of surgery really bothers me. I?ve repeatedly heard, ?Just be happy you can still run?, and I am, but doesn?t mean I?m satisfied.
What could have caused this problem and, more importantly, what can be done to correct it?
I?ve heard several theories such as
1. The opening for the Mitral valve is now overly restricted.
2. My heart muscle was overly stretched before surgery and it lost its strength.
3. The heart muscle was damaged by surgery.
Help.
Date Of Birth 6 Dec 1950
Suffered from Mitral Valve prolapse
Underwent Mitral Valve repair surgery 27 Dec 2002.
Surgery ?successful?. Some post operative complications ? some pleural effusion
Athletic performance (running/biking) became significantly worse after surgery
Here are my running times from a 5 mile (8K) race I?ve competed in numerous times.
Year Time Age
1990 31:06 39
1991 31:05 40
1992 31:25 41
1993 31:14 42
1994 31:54 43
1997 32:18 46
1998 32:47 47
2000 32:52 49
2001 32:51 50
Surgery
2003 37:02 52
2004 36:24 53
2005 38:10 54
2006 38:34 55
2008 39:05 57
You can?t help but notice that the valve repair surgery seems to have really hurt my running performance.
Had exercise treadmill test and spec imaging before and after surgery
Pre-surgery Post-surgery
(2 months) (8 months)
Ejection fraction 48 49
Diastolic volume 276 176
Systolic volume 144 91
Ejection volume 132 85
Diastolic BP 120 100
Systolic BP 80 70
I had some anemia after surgery
Pre-surgery Post-surgery
Hemoglobin 15-14.5 8.6 increase to 14 after 1 year
Had several blood tests. Tested feces for blood and CT scan of spleen. Condition normal.
Had three instances of pleurisy since surgery.
I realize that I am slowing down with age but the huge drop in performance as a result of surgery really bothers me. I?ve repeatedly heard, ?Just be happy you can still run?, and I am, but doesn?t mean I?m satisfied.
What could have caused this problem and, more importantly, what can be done to correct it?
I?ve heard several theories such as
1. The opening for the Mitral valve is now overly restricted.
2. My heart muscle was overly stretched before surgery and it lost its strength.
3. The heart muscle was damaged by surgery.
Help.