i was about your age when I had my AVR 9 years ago; a few things (pardon the brevity; typing from phone):
Recovery not linear; some days you will feel great and then not so much following day. Be ready for that first sneeze; some hospitals give out a teddy bear to squeeze when that first sneeze...
I had AVR in 2010 at 37 years old. Leading up to that, I was a pretty serious runner with a 2:57 marathon PR and was easily averaging 80 miles a week. Since my surgery, I have not been close to hitting that marathon time again. Some of that is due to AVR, but I believe more of it is due to 1)...
I was 38 when I had my valve replaced (2010) and my recovery was quite smooth; no speed bumps at all. I feel this was due to being in great shape heading into surgery. I was a pretty serious runner (average around 80 miles a week until my condition got to the point where my cardiologist was no...
I have been using a Garmin for about 10 years now (both before and after my Valve replacement in 2010 and my ICD in early 2015). One thing I have learned is that they are very sensitive to dry, cold weather. By that I mean I will get very erratic readings during the first few minutes of a run...
I had my aortic valve replaced in 2010 with a tissue valve and have done my fair share of hi-intensity workouts over the years without any issues. I never knew what my max HR was before surgery as I always did a "poor mans" alternative to a lactate test and determined my proper HR training...
That's awesome! I went 5X after my open heart surgery; though 1st time was nearly a year after. I did not have any issues and I also conveniently forgot to mention it.
I did my first half marathon 8 months post op (with Cardiologist approval) and did not have any issues... I went all out during the race and had a great time. I did get permission to train for a full, but put that on hold to hit the weights for a bit. I have since done 2 full marathons since...
Another word of caution (not heart related)...I have learned that when you are getting back into it, there is no such thing as going too easy. Each time I get back into it, I think I am going light enough and am then sore for the next week.
I also have a tissue valve and got back into weights (after a 20 year break) about 1 year and 2 months post op. Never had any issues including when I did a 1 rep max. I did make sure I was breathing properly as I heard that to be the biggest risk (holding your breath while pushing up). Good luck.
Ironmanin Training-I used to do ironmans (5 of them between 2002 and 2005, then life got in the way and shifted to only running). During that time, Garmins for running were not out yet, so Polar was our only option for monitoring HR. I never monitored my HR while swimming in training, but did...