Bike rides after AVR

[acr]

Hi Folks,

I quite enjoy bike rides, I do a 14 mile round trip (22km) to work. However I'm due an aortic valve swap at some point in the future. How long do you reckon it would be after surgery before I could get back on the bike. Apprecitate it'll be a case of take it easy and build from there.

Also, if you do moderate exercise (cycle commuting) does it sway the mechanical vs non-mechanical valve choice ? Eg. do non-mechanical valves degrade faster if you have an active lifstyle ? As it stands I want mechanical as I don't fancy a 2nd OHS let alone a 1st one. Appreciate there is also the Warfarin (Coumadin) consideration like if you fall off and bleed.

Thanks

 

[ChouDoufu]

it'll take a while for your sternum to heal, your doctor may clear you as
early as 8 weeks, but you want to be extra careful, bending over the
bars puts quite a bit of pressure on your chest - imagine hitting a nasty
pothole. being in good shape going into ohs will speed your recovery. sadly
nothing can be done to speed bones mending. just have to wait.

 

[SumoRunner]

Maybe 6-8 weeks to get back on the bike at all, 12-14 weeks to ride the 7 miles again. A mechanical valve has done well for me. It's almost 18 yrs old now. It used to be, in my day, that cadaver or pig valves only lasted 10 years before they needed to be swapped out again. So unless you were over 70 they wouldn't even consider it. Maybe they've improved on that now. On the near horizon they will be growing new valves from your own cells which should last the duration.

 

[spartangator]

As prior posts said, you'd be wise to plan for no riding for a couple of months. Until your sternum is healed, the bumping and jarring of a bike commute will not be a good time.

For valve choice, you'll obviously find tons of info on here, but it certainly seems as if those with mechanical valves do great with exercise. There's no shortage of examples in the exercise forum. The valve choice, as you've noted, depends upon many, many factors and is quite a personal decision.

In the end, though, you'll be pedaling away in no time at all.

 

[JeffM]

You can try what I and another avid cyclist did after AVR. Start riding a stationary bike, if one is accessible. I chose this over my own bike on rollers because it was easy to climb on it without using my upper body. I used my HR monitor to keep a close watch on my HR and keep it under control. At 6 weeks, I transitioned to my own bike and had very little discomfort. I still put very little weight on the bars and primarily rode with no hands. This is good for your cycling technique actually. By 8 weeks I was doing easy rides outside. The key is to use common sense.

 

[Philip B]

Cycling

Cycling

It's good to hear that you're already making post-op plans.

I started work on a stationary bicycle when I entered my cardiac rehab program a couple of weeks after AVR surgery.

How quickly you can return to riding a regular bicycle after surgery is individual and tends to be dictated by how closely you follow the directions your surgeon or cardiologist give you. Mine told me to wait eight weeks, but I cheated and started riding earlier (that's just a statement of what I did, not a recommendation that anyone else ignore their doctors instructions).

I did find that riding a bicycle with front suspension saved my chest from a lot of wear and tear. Personally, I was back to riding long distances within 12 weeks of surgery. My recovery was probably easier than what a lot of other folks have experienced. I hope yours goes as well as mine did.

-Philip

 

[Philip B]

Bleeding?

Bleeding?

Oh, I forgot to mention the crash stuff...

If you ride, chances are good that you'll eventually find yourself without two wheels under you. I've had two bad crashes since my AVR surgery in 2007. Both occurred while mountain biking. I was alone and miles from anywhere where I could get help.

I opted for a mechanical valve and do the coumadin thing. Yes, if you crash, you'll bleed and bruise if you're on coumadin. The reality is that if you crash while not on coumadin, you'll bleed and bruise. Both of my crashes were bad, but I rode back to my vehicle and neither crash required a trip to the ER. I did have to cancel participaton in a century ride event in 2008 after taking a tumble and bouncing off a boulder.

Opinions will vary, but I believe AVR surgery is about getting things fixed so one can resume the normal activities that one may want to pursue. I don't let my artificial valve and coumadin use dictate what activities I pursue. Some may regard my perspective as reckless and that's okay. Others will and can have whatever opinions that they want. Bruises and scrapes heal whether one is on coumadin or not.

-Philip

 

[acr]

Cool thanks very much for the responses. I've not had a crash yet (yay!) save for one very close clipless pedal moment. I guess it's a case of listen to your body and go with what your comfortable with (under medical advice). Good advice re: front suspension, I have one bike with and one without. Maybe the one without will get a rest.