Getting a little nervous. Any athletes out there after OHS????

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knxthree

New member
Joined
Aug 14, 2013
Messages
1
Location
Ladera Ranch, CA
First - I love this website. I have read so many great success stories!

I am a 44 year old female and have mitral valve prolapse with torn chords. The doctors still don't know how my heart valve went bad (Never had a heart murmur before this year and no infections, heart disease, etc.) My GP found it on a routine exam and after the tests - they call it a severe leak and after my TEE they wanted to do surgery within a week or two - YIKES! That was shocking! For the last 2 months I have only been able to walk (no running, cycling, weight training, etc.)

I go to the Hospital bright and early tomorrow! For those of you who have done triathlons, marathons, 10k's, etc. How long does it take before you can compete again? Does it really take 3 months before you start to feel like yourself again?

Thanks in advance for any replies!



MVP OHS 8/31/2013
Courage is like a muscle, it is strengthened by use.
 
Hi KNX-

I was 39 when I had my first AVR and had been a competitive paddler beforehand. It took me three months to be able to get back on the water because I had to wait for my sternum to heal, and therefore quite a bit longer before I was anywhere near back to where I was before the op. I started running and got back on my bike about eight weeks post-op but it still took MUCH longer than my lofty expectations to get where I thought I could be! I thought I'd be able to break into a jog while still in hospital . . . patience is not my strong suit!

I'm now two years post-2nd-op (emergency AVR redo due to endocarditis) and I'm finally running comfortably - but keep in mind I wasn't allowed to run for the first four decades of my life so I had a LOT more work to do than just strengthening the heart! After both surgeries I was able to ride up hills on my bike at about three months post-op that I couldn't have managed with my old rubbish valve.

Even though you're coming from a better base than me, I think you'll find it still takes longer than three months to get back into things. It takes three months for the sternum to heal, and I had to wait eight weeks before I could ride my bike as if you fall off before then with a still-healing sternum . . . ouch. Plan on getting back to training without restrictions at the 12 week point, and then probably another three if you're training well to get back to where you were.

Being fit DEFINITELY helps in the healing process though so you're already several steps ahead of a lot of people! Best of luck for tomorrow and let us know how you go!
 
I was running halfs up until my diagnosis at age 45.....I was in EXCELLENT condition pre-surgery - but after surgery I was able to "run" on the TM with supervision at cardiac rehab about 12 weeks after my surgery - and by run - I mean I was only doing 5 min at a time

Everyone is different - so there really is no way of knowing how your personal recovery will go - I didn't have a mitral problem - mine was the aortic valve AND ascending aortic aneurysm......I was also NOT on BB and so I self-limited my HR for a long time....then there was the anxiety I had to overcome in trusting that I could run again - so it took me a full year before I could run a 5K - others on this site jumped right back in shortly after surgery.

Now, two years later it's as if I never had a problem - I run consistently about 20-25 miles a week - my longest run has been 10 miles..... what I'm saying is that it's a process - try not to compare yourself with others.

IMO - What it really comes down to is quality of life and making the most of it with the cards you, me, and all the others here have been dealt


Good luck to you!
 
I consider myself more of a plodder than a runner, but I started running 6 weeks after surgery. By that I mean slow jogging/ walking. At 4 months post-op I ran a 5K and won my age group. My time wasn't great, but I was proud of myself. I was a month shy of being 50 at the time. I am now getting ready for an ascending aortic aneurysm repair, and I'm hoping for another come back. That is how I view fitness at my age (56), a series of comebacks!
 
If you have been running before, you will notice it is a lot easier after a valve replacement. I was never a serious runner but after my OHS I did a 10-miler at 18 months and doing another one in October.

BTW, On my last day of vacationing in Puerto Rico. Did the El Yunque waterfall hike with nary a problem. Swam in the Palomino Island Bay and the resort pools regularly and did a 90 minute bio luminiscent bay kayaking (kayaking for the very first time I may add) with no shortness of breath whatsoever. (My back killed me but no issues with the breathing)

Hope this answers your question.
 
I rode my road bike 35 miles today. I'm at 12 weeks post aortic valve replacement surgery. I have to keep my HR down...........145bpm or lower, but I'm on the bike.
Also rode 12 miles on the mountain bike yesterday.

I feel fantastic!
 
Re: Getting a little nervous. Any athletes out there after OHS????

Hope the op went well KNX-, just don't try running around the ward - I'm sure the nurses would love that!

I had competed in rowing and cycling races up to my first surgery (Ross procedure) and went into it in good shape. My recovery went really well and i was raring to get back on my bike after about 3 weeks but as Ski Girl says, you have to wait for your sternum to heal before getting out on the open road / track. My docs allowed me out on the bike by 6 weeks but before that I'd been doing about 40 min per day on a stationary bike to keep some cycling strength in my legs. I started running frequently at about 8 weeks and built it up to do a half marathon after about 5 1/2 months which took me 2 hrs 15 min - about 15 min longer than normal for me. I felt that I'd got back to a similar athletic ability to that pre-op after somewhere between 9 to 12 months.

I'm almost 4 weeks out from my second surgery and I'm doing similar amounts of exercise as after the first. I have to admit to breaking the 6 week rule and heading up the coast on the quiet roads round here with my wife for a cycle to a fish and chip shop - about 30 miles over 2 and a bit hours. Not sure whether it was the fish and chips or the cycling that made me make such a rash decision, but luckily all went well. Although it was my best day since the op, I would really not recommend it - just not worth the risk with hindsight. This time, I'm not planning to enter any competitions until next spring / summer.

Id say to take it at your own pace, within doctors limits and not to aim too high until you can get a feel for how your body is reacting to the surgery.

Hope all goes well.

Andrew
 
I was not an athlete before surgery - smoked, ate too much of all the wrong things, very little exercise. Started walking almost immediately after surgery; now I'm walking, bicycling 50+ miles per week, hitting the treadmill when not biking, and strength training at the gym. I think that if you are athletic before surgery, you'll do spectacularly afterward.

Add: Just took up running the last two weeks, thought I never would as of, uh, two weeks ago. On the treadmill, and only up to nearly 15 minutes at a time, but infinitely more than none at all.
 
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Age at time of surgery has a lot to do with recovery. I was 63, and a recreational athlete at the time of my surgery. By then, my aortic stenosis had reduced me from 7:30 miles to about 11:00. In and following surgery, I had a lot of complications, eventually ending up with a pacemaker. Now, 2 1/2 years after surgery, I am more active but at a slower pace. I no longer run - my knees just won't take it. But I do "power-walk" on an inclined treadmill, ride a bike (stationary and road), lift weights (light weight, high reps) -- you get the picture. It may take a while, but I think most of us can say that we can do more after surgery than we could do before, and it feels great!
 
I've signed up for a two week hike in the mountains of Bhutan next month. I'll let you guys know how it goes.
 
Ohhhh Vegas I'm very jealous! That will be an absolutely magic trip.

For those of you who don't know where Bhutan is, it's in the Himalayas, with some 23,000 foot peaks! Hiking in the mountains there is a REAL test of new heart parts :)
 
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