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I'm now nine weeks post-surgery, but in the first five or so weeks after getting a mechanical valve and Dacron ascending aortia, I had night sweats. I'd go through three or four t-shirts a night, and for several weeks I slept on towels, which I could change, so I could avoid sleeping on wet...

I had similar issues. I left ICU on the day after my surgery, but the problems boiled to the surface later that evening, sending me back to the ICU. In addition to the vision problem, for brief periods I also lost my ability to speak clearly. I had a CT scan, ultrasound of major neck arteries...

Good luck, Jenny ... In the end, it's not in our control, which certainly bothers me every bit as much as the small humiliations of this invasive procedure, but the history of these surgeries ought to give us cause for optimist ...

For the benefit of others who are trying to research these questions, here's a link to a useful article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2752693/

I can’t find the words to say how much I appreciate all the comments, which are very reassuring. As one comment suggested, I spoke about this issue with my cardiologist. He awkwardly tried to put a happy face on things – and, in the process, made me a lot less happy. He said I should be able to...

Jenny, I think I can say with authority that I know how you feel. I'm getting a new aortic valve and ascending aorta on that same day- March 12. I am utterly terrified. I'm 62, I work on very stressful and complex business matters, and though I often work around emotionally troubling events, I...

Thanks for those links about Danny Thrall … His case is very much to the point of my question: he swims two of the events that demand the greatest explosive power and the highest heart rates: the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle. His surgery, to repair his aorta and implant a mechanical valve...

I agree: squash places demands on the heart that are similar to the demands of a middle-distance swimming sprint. Your experience is encouraging - and the fact that you had that experience with a young heart (which, no doubt, packs more punch than my 62-year-old heart) is even more encouraging...

Thanks, Duffy, and that's reassuring. My concern is with the mechanical valve, and whether that will safely allow the high pulse rates. I'm persuaded that the valves themselves can take such a licking, but I wonder if - at very high pulse rates - the blood will be beaten around by the metal...

I'm weeks away from surgery for my bicuspid aortic valve and enlarged ascending aorta. I swam competitively in high school and college and, 40 years later, I was competing in masters swimming at a pretty high level as recently as a few months ago when my cardiologist told me to stop the swimming...