six weks post surgery and my heart feels like it is working overtime

[Phoenix]

The beat goes on...........Hello every one. Is there any one out there with a st Jude's aortic valve that has had a Dacron graft to repair there ascending aorta? I am six weeks out of surgery to repair an 5.3cm aneurysm of my ascending aorta. I had An 11 yr old st Jude's valve which was not touched. Dr Ralph Bolman of the Brigham and women's did a Dacron graft of the Aorta.The root was not involved. As everyone here knows, the surgery kicks your ass , but there are great moments of humor in between the fear and great solidarity, friendship and amazement that you can get through the pain and wind up OK. I have never felt more full of life than during those times when I was scared of losing it. That being said, I hope I never have to go through that again. I started driving at 4 weeks out and seemed just jump right back into my life, except that I watched what lifted. I then started to feel that I moved too fast I was feeling out of breath when climbing stairs and had a hyper dynamic heart beat, It felt like it was pounding hard all the time. I then called on the forces of my surgeon and my cardiologist and set up appointments. They ran an echo and a chest xray etc. my blood pressure is fine and my heart rate normal. they did find some minor irregularities in the beat from the echo and small regurgitation from my mitral valve that was not there before but were not concerned and felt it could not be causing my symptoms and would settle down when my heart fully healed. just in case I just finished wearing a 48 hour halter monitor and out of the 240,000 heart beats it recorded there were only 3 that were little early or out of sync, which my cardiologist said was incredible.I am taking 100mg of Metoprolol daily which they say may have to be adjusted and could be causing some of my feeling out of breath. My question is this; although everything checks out my heart does not feel right. it feels like it is "clunking" around in my chest and like it is working over time, all the time, Pounding very heavy. Has any one out there had a similar experience? I know that they have discovered that people with bicuspid valves like I had have a greater tendency to develop aneurysms of the ascending aorta. Any body out there that has a st Jude's valve and has had the same surgery that I did and if so do you have any of the same symptoms that I am having with a heavy heart beat. Is this normal? Thanks in advance for any info you can give me
P.

 

[Phyllis]

Dick has a bovine valve, but I remember that he had symptoms of his heart pounding for a few months after surgery- especially at night when he was lying in bed. It takes time for your heart to adjust and since you had it checked out by the surgeon and the cardio, I think you should relax and give your heart a chance to recover from the surgery. You have a great facility to fall back on and I am glad that you did not hesitate to contact them. Best wishes!

 

[DebbyA]

I know you only wanted to hear from those with your specific equipment. (If that's still true, it might help to put in the title...).

However, I think the fact of OHS has more to do with recovery experience than type of valve. You have been checked out more thoroughly at 6 weeks than I have been at 6 months, and it sounds like you're doing pretty well. It's good that you were proactive enough to call your med resources, and their responsivness is heartening, too.

About the pounding--there's a lot on this site about us being more aware of it after surgery, with different possible explanations of the cause. We have a friend with tinnitus, and he was saying that he has learned not to hear it by conscious effort. It makes me wonder if we always unconsciously learn to tune out our heartsounds, but have to re-learn to tune out the new, more forceful sound after valve replacement? I did have it, usually took my blood pressure and found it normal.

About the shortness of breath, you may just be trying to do more than your body is ready for yet. One good thing to do is keep weighing daily, just in case of fluid buildup.

 

[Phoenix]

thanks

thanks

Thanks Debby and Phyllis for your response, part of my problem is also that when I breath deeply my heart goes "Clunk" like it is getting in its own way. I remember being hyper aware of my st judes valve when it was put in 11 years ago but this is different. I appreciate you taking the time to get back to me
P.

 

[hensylee]

I have no answers but wanted to wish you all the best. I can tell that you are keeping in touch with your doctors and if it continues, you maybe can pressure them a little stronger?

 

[Cooker]

When in doubt call your doctor ... also... it takes TIME .... I thought my heart was going to pound through my chest the first eight to six months ... I don't even think it's beating now .... can't hear or feel a thing ...

 

[Alex]

Phoenix,

My surgery was not exactly the same as yours but I have talked to a lot of people and the heart pounding is very common. I am 8 months post op and still beats pretty hard but mush less than before. In fact, at six weeks it was like if I had a hammer inside me, specially if I took a deep breath. If everything else feels OK and tests are OK you should not worry too much, the pounding will decreease A LOT !

 

[terence]

Thanks Debby and Phyllis for your response, part of my problem is also that when I breath deeply my heart goes "Clunk" like it is getting in its own way. I remember being hyper aware of my st judes valve when it was put in 11 years ago but this is different. I appreciate you taking the time to get back to me
P.

Hi Phoenix,

I'm 5 weeks after surgery. I had my aortic valve and a big chunk of my ascending aorta replaced in one hit (so there's plenty of dacron in there now). I'm pretty aware of my thumping heart too. Also, I get what must be a very similar sensation to that which you described when taking a deep breath.

Unfortunately, I have no definite advice for you. My doctor seems pretty relaxed about it and all my vital signs are good. So I'm hoping it's just par for the course. But I don't know for certain and I'm worrying a bit.

I'll be interested to hear what you discover.