How Did You Feel, Before and After Valve Replacement?

[Elgato]

I would love to hear how you felt, physically and mentally, 3 - 6 months before your surgery and 3 - 6 months after.
Also, which valve type and would you choose it again.
How has it changed your life?

I have heard everything from extremely tired to better than new.

So, if anyone wants to share and has some time to type, I would appreciate your story.

Thank You

 

[knotguilty]

I think we all love sharing our stories. 3-6 months prior I had very few, light, symptoms. Like some heart palpataions, A cold type feeling in my chest when I jogged. Mild symptoms. I thought is this something I realy need to do, because I basically felt great. Also if you are talking about anxiety before surgery, we all have had that. But the cardiologist and the surgeon felt I should get the replacement immediatly. The surgeon felt that I could die with in two years if not fixed, and my cardiologist thought it better to get it done before I developed other issues with my heart caused by the BAV. After surgery I was back on my feet pretty quickly. I think because I had been exercising in the gym and running for the past 15 years. I will say all the prior symptoms are gone. I have a slight palpatation every now and then but nothing like I was experiencing before. What I questioned were symptoms of my heart I know now they were. Prior to, I had a hard time jogging a couple miles, now I jog 4 miles everytime I get on the treadmill, at least twice a week. I don't go nuts on the weights though, but still lift my weight. I chose a tissue valve and am very very glad I did. And yes, even at this point, 1.5 years post op, I would probably chose another tissue valve. I know people here might think I am crazy, but it is what I would do. My doctors all think it possible I may never need a replacement, but if I do, it is what I signed up for. For me, I did not want to have a daily reminder of my heart valve by having to take blood thinners and the constant ticking. I am no doubt better than new!

 

[DavesMom]

The only symptom I had prior to my AVR was some fatigue but I explained it away due to aging (after all, I'd hit my 40s) : ) and a fairly stressful job. Otherwise, nothing.

In fact, I spent June and July in England walking for hours a day and climbing hills with no problem only to be told two or three months later that I needed AVR! Shock to me.

My doctor told me I wouldn't realize how bad I'd been feeling until the surgery was over. Truer words were never spoken. I felt so much more energetic, alert and focused. It was well worth it.

Good luck!

 

[ChicagoMammy]

Night and day. Like the others have said - I didn't realize how bad I was until after and until my mom said it to me. I couldn't carry my 1 month old 1 block without stopping and catching my breath (5 months pre-surgery). Afterwards no problems. I was in the gym until 2 years ago (5 years post-op). Since then I have been going down hill with another valve. These last few months have been tough. Tiredness, shortness of breath. The last few weeks have been worse and worse. I can only walk very slowly, more palpitations (I always have some), tiredness when I do anything. Surgery is in 9 days. Here's hoping for the same vast improvement as last time.

 

[Mentu]

From Awful to Wonderful

From Awful to Wonderful

In the months before my valve replacement, I became quite ill. Walking from my living room to the car left me winded. Walking from the parking lot one block to the office and then up a flight of 16 stairs left me exhausted. Almost any exertion caused the onset of severe heart palpitations. By six weeks before surgery, I had to lie down for 30 - 45 minutes to quell the palpitations. I found concentration difficult and at the best moments had no energy. I started taking a shower just before bedtime because after a hot shower I had to rest.

The day I awoke in my room (Thursday after a Tuesday surgery) I was quite struck by the fact that I felt pretty good. I was afraid to move because I really did feel good. Part of this was due to the Sternal Talons used to close my sternum which insured that there was no movement between the two halves. The first day was good and for about six weeks, every day was noticeably better. I was terribly weak but all of the symptoms I had experienced before surgery were gone. I went home on Sunday morning and on Monday walked outside for the first time. One block out and block back and I had to take a nap because I was exhausted not because I felt ill. I kept a journal of what I did and how I felt so that I could compare from week to week and my journal supports my memory of those days. After about six weeks, it became more difficult to see improvement on a daily basis but from week to week, month to month recovery went wonderfully well.

Larry

 

[Jkm7]

I felt well prior to my tissue valve replacement but did get short of breath. I was walking a great deal through those years/months while they watched my valve leak more and more. I went through the surgery very easily, was up and about quickly, healed fast with no bumps in the road and am now 6 years post op and my tissue valve is doing fine. There is NO question in my mind but I would choose tissue again. For Me, it was the right choice.

My surgeon, at that time, wanted me to take coumadin for three months post op while my own tissue grew over the seat of the valve. What I (or he) could not know in advance was I required a Huge dose of coumadin and still never actually got into the range he wanted which was 2.00 - 3.00. He was concerned I was taking such a big dose and told me to stop at 2 1/2 months. Apparently I metabolize that drug at a rapid rate and though on over 100 mg, I could not maintain a therapeutic 2.0. I am aware the correct dose is that which keeps the patient in their prescribed range but a lifetime of that much coumadin is not desireable. It could be a real problem should I require a medical or dental procedure that produces bleeding.

I am ever so thankful I was not committed to having to take that kind of dose for the rest of my life.

 

[Forrest]

I was approaching 50 so I made an appointment for a physical to mark that milestone and my commitment to future health. I was/am an athlete and avid outdoorsman, but was starting to feel a bit tired after playing competitive sports or at the end of a stressful day at work. So my doctor would have never tested me as he was saying “see you in 4 years”, but at the end of the appointment I mentioned my slight fatigue, saying I think it’s just stress and getting older. My doctors over the years had always known I had what they called an “innocent” heart murmur since my early 20’s, the doctor who first noticed this murmur did an EKG and said I am fine. But since then no docs ever saw the need to do an Echo until I mentioned “fatigue”. So at the end of my appointment the doctor said lets do an echo to rule things out, I asked, what is an “Echo?”. A week later I’m called back into the office and told that I have a congenital heart defect regarding my aortic valve. Two months later after cracking a crown (prior root-canal fix) below the gum line I had my tooth extracted, then about two weeks after that I’m lying in the hospital with Endocarditis. Within 5 months of being told “you have a heart defect”, I was being cracked open. Very surreal, especially to the non-initiated, but now that I’m a full lifetime member it’s just part of the show, as others on the forum have similar “surprise” stories.

But I am doing fine now. I was only partially fatigued before diagnosis, but probably more than I realized as I made excuses that it was my busy schedule and aging. But I was very active, even exercising and golfing (walking) within a month of my operation (maybe that wasn’t smart to do). Now I feel better, and I think being into fitness my whole life might have made the boundary between pre-op and post-op a bit blurry, but my heart is now smoother and doesn’t pound as much after physical exertion. I feel more endurance and I believe I’m getting more blood to my noggin. Most people have success with this operation, but there are a small percentage that get hit much harder, and I sympathize with them and their families. As to whether post-op there were other benefits, for me, I think so. I always felt I was appreciative and grounded about life, but going through these extra hurdles certainly has given me a few more stripes and earned grey hairs .

Best wishes to you in your operation!

 

[Boston Tiger]

I would love to hear how you felt, physically and mentally, 3 - 6 months before your surgery and 3 - 6 months after.
Also, which valve type and would you choose it again.

The mitral valve was my problem. When I hit 50, my wife insisted that I start visiting the doctor once a year rather than every five years. At that visit, the my primary physician said "wow, you have a loud murmur that wasn't there before". A batter of echos and one visit to a cardiologist later and I was told that I had moderate regurgitation that would eventually become worse and require surgery. At the six month followup I was told that it had progressed to severe regurgitation and that I needed to have surgery within the next six months. At the time, I still wasn't really feeling any symptoms, so I pushed surgery off for four months. Those were a long four months! The physical symptoms showed up more and more often, and by the end I found it difficult to walk and talk at the same time. But the mental side was even worse, since I obsessed over everything related to the surgery during that period. I don't know how many of the other symptoms I felt were actually caused by my valve issue versus my nerves. I wish I had found this site then, because when people say that the wait is the hardest part they are telling the truth!

I ended up flip flopping between the artificial and natural valves throughout that period, but the week of the surgery decided to go with tissue, if needed. Luckily, my surgeon was able to repair my valve.

I woke up in cardiac ICU breathing better than I had in months. I had very few bumps in the road during my recovery. Each week I felt better than the last, That soon that was replaced with month to month improvements, and eventually I got to the point where the surgery was a distant memory. One of the interesting things about this site is that there is a lot of turnover in active posters, since people get so busy enjoying life a year or so after surgery that they don't have much time to hang around here. I was guilty of this until a few weeks ago, when someone at work asked me a heart surgery question for one of their neighbors.

How has it changed your life?

The simple answer is that I'm still around to enjoy life, which the odds say wouldn't have been the case without surgery. Since surgery, I've seen my daughter graduate high school, my son graduate college, and before the end of the year I will have made the last college payments for the kids. But I'd also have to say that my outlook on life has changed, since I found that some of the things that used to be big deals before surgery really are pretty minor on the grand scale. A new lease on life can be a good thing!

 

[Gail in Ca]

My response would be way too long as I've had 3 surgeries.
Suffice it to say the more ill you are going into a surgery the more tired you are coming out of it.
However, after all 3, in 3-6 months I was going back to the gym, lifting small weights at home and doing push ups, walking 2-3 miles,
I felt great.