Heavy Lifting

[ajc1991]

I had my bicuspid aortic valve aortic valve replaced with a mechanical valve on January 15th of this year. For work, I was doing stocking, lifting heavy boxes of wine throughout my shift at the local grocery store.

Have any of you been able to return to this line of work, where you do a lot of heavy lifting, after your heart surgery?

 

[Freddie]

When in doubt, check with your doctor.

 

[cldlhd]

Obviously your doctor(s) should be asked. I can only speak for myself . I had my bicuspid valve repaired not replaced but my root, ascending and hemi arch were replaced with a dacron graft and I can't imagine there would be any difference in terms of lifting with a valve replacement. I also have a job that is occasionally physical with heavy lifting, I work for a local water authority, and just yesterday I had my 1st follow up with my surgeon and he said once healed I have no lifting restrictions. They also factor in the condition if the rest if your heart, how are the arteries springs to mind. I think it also varies greatly between doctors,some err on the side of caution, who knows possibly for fear of litigation. Fortunately my surgeon is very confident in his work and I got the green light.

 

[tom in MO]

I was told no heavy lifting for 6 months job related or not. I was released for work after 6-8 weeks, but I have a desk job.

 

[ajc1991]

Thank you all for your input. I'm just going to have to find another job. My health comes first.

 

[tom in MO]

I'd talk to your surgeon. They can tell specifically for the type of surgery what your specific restrictions will be and how that affects your actual job duties. The grocery store may be able to assign you different duties that would be allowable. In addition, many people get disability insurance from their job, I do. If your job can't find you "light duty" activities, you may be able to go on disability for the time period.

 

[cldlhd]

I just had my valve repaired and my aneurysm replaced with a graft . I work for a local water authority and although I'd say the job is 80% mental 20% physical but occasionally I have to lift things as heavy as a manhole. Trust me not only can they be rather heavy when they've been in place for awhile they don't want to come out and I've been told I can do my job.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

Thank you all for your input. I'm just going to have to find another job. My health comes first.

absolutely your health comes first, but before you quit your job let me say that I'm a computer programmer these days and have been that for some years now. After I got back from my OHS I was soon (like 4 months) lifting furniture to move my dad out of his place into another place. I'm 51

Recently when I got back from Finland (where I did a lot of XC skiing, and a lot means most days of the week all winter) I took a job working "night fill" at a local supermarket. I got the Tea Coffee Biscuits aisle which has the UHT milks. I managed that with no problems (except hurting my elbow). The cartons of UHT milk are about 20Kg each and I'd stack something over a hundred of the bastards a night (plus the other stuff).

So what I"m saying is that its doable ... if you WANT to do it is another question. Sure your health comes first, but well thought out movements to me made the physical aspect of my night fill job better than my IT job. I liked the "get paid to work out" and I felt less tired after a days work than a days sitting on my arse.

Best Wishes

 

[big_L]

I wouldn't do any heavy lifting for 6 months. Your sternum needs time to heal.

 

[yotphix]

My surgeon recommended 6 months of no heavy lifting, and told me to take the time off work if I could. Lucky for me, my employers found a temp replacement for me, and held the job. I did do a little more than I was supposed to during the recovery, and I'll say that I regretted it occasionally. I'd definitely recommend you avoid carrying 20 bundles of laminate flooring up to your den and installing it, for instance! Bad idea.
My feeling was, that my cardiac rehab, which helped me to successfully return my ventricle to 'normal' size, and me to excellent fitness, would not have gone so well if I had returned to work on a boat, hauling mooring lines and such. (A wet 2" x 50' nylon mooring line can weigh up to about a hundred pounds or so.)

 

[spartangator]

Certainly, talk with your care team and your boss at work, but after a good amount of healing time, the experiences on here seem to indicate you'll be able to lift anything you like at work. Once the sternum's solid, lifting operates fairly normally. Good luck.

 

[Tirone]

Since you're young and I assume you're otherwise healthy and had a valve replacement without CABG, you're sternum should heal within 3 months. I'm 30 years old and started heavy lifting after 3 months. It took me about another 3 months to be back at where I was preoperative regarding maximum load. My job doesn't include heavy lifting, but I spend a lot of time in the gym in my spare time. Talk to you doc. The valve replacement by itself is no reason to quite your job.