Increase in stamina/ability

[ajay_22_86]

Hi,

I'm interested to know that after people have recovered from injury, did they notice any increase in their exercise performance? How notable was this? I'm eager to see how much I improve after surgery and recovery!

 

[WayneGM]

You didn't mention your symptoms or whether you suffered a decline in stamina/ability over a period of time pre-surgery. In my case I was asympotomatic, so didn't notice any decline. That said, I was never much for a regular exercise regiment although I can say I am fairly fit. My Cardio was surprised at how well I did on the stress test despite my valve leakage and that I didn't exercise much in the first place. Now that I'm fully recovered but I can't say I have any increase in stamina/ability....just the same as have always been. Of course, I'm not working to increase my performance either so you get what you give I guess.

 

[ChouDoufu]

any increase in their exercise performance?

i'm almost 10 weeks out, and have noticed some improvement.

the day before i hopped a flight to india for avr, i ran 2 miles in 14:55.
that was it; not out of breath, just no strength/will to continue.

last weekend ran 2-1/2 miles in 25 minutes. much slower than before,
mainly due to watching my hr monitor to see i don't go too high. but
that's a 25% increase in distance.

important to note:
1. i'm not out of breath or even tired at the end of the run.
2. i feel i can continue, and
3. i know i can go faster

if i weren't trying to keep my heart rate down, and avoid getting scolded
on this forum for doing too much, i'm sure both time and distance would
be much more improved.

 

[SumoRunner]

It's highly variable because everyone's heart condition is different going in and afterward the drugs may play a big role. I've yet to find anyone who can say he/she had a better performance after AVR unless they did nothing athletic before surgery and had no past performance to compare to.

AVR is going to cost you something in terms of speed or stamina, but it will give you your life back. A pretty good trade in my book.

 

[Eva]

Ajay,

In brief I would say this surgery was a miracle and personally I wish I had it 15 years before. I noticed the difference right after the surgery in some ways...I am not exagerating! but the way I woke up after a disrupted sleep in the hospital despite the pains felt more restful.

After ten days of the surgery, I felt 'Wow'! just wanted to walk and walk, but limited myself to how much I was instructed to walk...did not want ot overdo it.

Good luck

 

[Thankful@43]

The time we have in this world is short. I was not particularly athletic prior to my AVR & anuerysm repair two years ago just a hard working man. Post-op I have noticed a dramatic increase in my stamina. However when my mind is up to it I try to exercise lightly as I have also noticed decreased muscle tone. Any way you cut it I'm just glad to be able to "chase" my children around the yard even if it's just a short distance. Take care and keep up with your plan and the gains will follow.

 

[ChouDoufu]

I've yet to find anyone who can say he/she had a better performance after AVR unless they did nothing athletic before surgery and had no past performance to compare to.

but i AM doing better than before. the week before avr maxed out at
2 miles. last week ran 2.5 miles. next week will try for 3. so my endurance
HAS improved.

last weekend ran 2-1/2 miles in 25 minutes. much slower than before, mainly due to watching my hr monitor to see i don't go too high. but that's a 25% increase in distance

sure it's slower, but only because i'm watching the heart monitor. once i hit
12 weeks and can go over 150, plan to start the speed work. i know fershur
i'll be able to beat that pre-op 15-minute 2 miles.

 

[ajay_22_86]

Hm, interesting interesting!

SumoRunner, I didn't know AVR would cost you in terms of speed or stamina? But maybe as you said it's different for each person. I've been monitoring myself on the treadmill and once I recover I'm hoping to see a good increase in my performance. Ah well, fingers crossed!

 

[SumoRunner]

SumoRunner, I didn't know AVR would cost you in terms of speed or stamina?

Mostly it depends on how competitive you were prior to OHS. No one who was very competitive prior to AVR, as far as I've seen so far, has gotten all the way back to their peak performance. If you were not highly competitive, you don't have a peak performance to compare to. Now, there are a ton of people on CardiacAthletes.org who are trying their best and perhaps one or two may do so (of course they're not all valvers), but I haven't seen it yet.

I could run a 6 minute mile and 800 meters under 2:50 the year prior to AVR at age 43. I never came close to that afterward because the beta blocker prevented me from attaining my true max HR.

By stamina I meant sustained performance at high intensity, say for 5 to 15Km at lactate threshold pace. As for endurance work at a moderate HR, that won't be hurt. You can still go for hours as long as you don't approach your HR limits.