Newly Diagnosed- Bodybuilding and Exertion

[Paleowoman]

Well, Arnold Schwarzenegger was also born with bicuspid aortic valve. We all know he did very serious body building/strength training. From what I remember he had his first heart surgery when he was fifty with the Ross procedure. He’s had two more heart surgeries since then.

 

[tommyboy14]

Well, Arnold Schwarzenegger was also born with bicuspid aortic valve. We all know he did very serious body building/strength training. From what I remember he had his first heart surgery when he was fifty with the Ross procedure. He’s had two more heart surgeries since then.

Depending on how we count heart surgeries you could say he has had 4:

1. Ross Procedure in 1997 at 47

2. Reop for failed autograft two days later (We dont know if the fixed the autograft or needed to replace)

3. Attempted transcather pulmonary valve replacement, which converted to OHS in 2018.

4. TAVR for aortic valve in 2020 (this time successfull).

I would note that this is a lot of procedures to rack up for someone over only 20 years. I do wonder if would have been better off even with a bio valve, he could have avoided at least one surgery. Clearly had he gone mechanical he would have just done one OHS, but then I suppose he wouldnt be able to do action movies anymore, so perhaps in his case it is understandable why he wanted to avoid warfarin....

 

[Paleowoman]

I wonder, in view of the question in YoungSauce's post at the start of this thread about lifting hard and heavy, how much Schwarzenegger's hard and heavy weight lifting affected his bicuspid aortic valve.

Depending on how we count heart surgeries you could say he has had 4:

1. Ross Procedure in 1997 at 47

2. Reop for failed autograft two days later (We dont know if the fixed the autograft or needed to replace)

3. Attempted transcather pulmonary valve replacement, which converted to OHS in 2018.

4. TAVR for aortic valve in 2020 (this time successfull).

I would note that this is a lot of procedures to rack up for someone over only 20 years. I do wonder if would have been better off even with a bio valve, he could have avoided at least one surgery. Clearly had he gone mechanical he would have just done one OHS, but then I suppose he wouldnt be able to do action movies anymore, so perhaps in his case it is understandable why he wanted to avoid warfarin....

 

[pellicle]

how much Schwarzenegger's hard and heavy weight lifting affected his bicuspid aortic valve.

its a good question and one which we will never really have a definitive answer for.

I prefer to take the precautionary principle and make the assessment of:
"aneurysm is known to be caused by connective tissue disorder, BAV is evidence of connective tissue disorder, we know that pipes which take pressure need to be re-enforced not weaker or they'll get a bulge and pop."

Why wouldn't you apply that to yourself?

My own views on that question would be a mixture of denial (won't happen to me) and ignorance.

 

[Paleowoman]

its a good question and one which we will never really have a definitive answer for.

I know...and possibly Schwarzenegger didn't know he had a bicuspid aortic valve when he was younger, it wasn't until he was 47 that he had the Ross procedure. I read a biography, or maybe it was an autobiography, of him some years ago and it wasn't obvious when he found out he had BAV.

I think that doctors pick up the murmur of bicuspid aortic valve better these days as stethoscopes and echocardiograms are better, eg mine was picked up by a regular doctor in France when I was 25 when I consulted him because I had a chest infection, but other doctors had listened to my chest before and not heard anything whereas the French doctor was very surprised I didn't know about it.

 

[Rixtory]

YoungSauce,
I'm 63 now. I was diagnosed with BAV when I surprisingly failed my annual Army flight physical 42 years ago. I became a bodybuilder and used anabolic steroids for a few years. Probably one of the worst things I could do, besides forget to pre-treat for dental work.
Now, 40 years and 4 aortic valve replacements later, and very lucky to be alive, here are my thoughts.
- I would suggest staying away from monster weights. You can still get ripped and build muscle with less massive weights - Benching Sets of 10-15 with 225#-250# and squatting with not more than 250# - even better to stay around 185#-225#. You can still build decent muscle at these weights.
- Always pre-treat with antibiotics - It seems like there wasn't as much info or focus on this stuff 40 years ago. With the internet now, there is a lot of information available.
- If you can, try to stave off your first AVR (aortic valve replacement) until at least your 40's. This is not always possible, but I still believe it is better to have an early AVR and preserve heart function rather than waiting and having an enlarged heart. Think of partially blowing up a balloon and look at the elasticity as you squeeze it. vs blowing up a balloon and leaving it for a day and letting most the air out - and the stretched-out lack of elasticity.
If I were doing it again, I would opt for a Minimally Invasive surgery with a porcine valve and try to avoid a lifetime of blood thinners. Please See my profile and introduction for my experiences with mechanical valves.
I wish you the best.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

If you can, try to stave off your first AVR (aortic valve replacement) until at least your 40's. This is not always possible, but I still believe it is better to have an early AVR and preserve heart function rather than waiting and having an enlarged heart.

little confused here by what appears to be diametrically opposed views. Is your final position "have surgery slightly before the surgeons say "you'd better have it or the risk you'll die from it is grater than the risks you'll die from sugery" (which is how it was in the 70's).

If I were doing it again, I would opt for a Minimally Invasive surgery with a porcine valve and try to avoid a lifetime of blood thinners

can I guess from this that you have had difficulty in management of INR?

I know when I was 28 (I'm nearing 60 now) my surgeon said to me "we don't want you on warfarin just yet" and we put a homograft in. Since then warfarin management has improved leaps and bounds (perhaps not in the USA) with the encouragement to self test and either get guidance from a clinic or self manage. Many developed countries even give you a Coaguchek (basically) for free and some even make the strips free.

I really hope that my upcoming book on INR self management helps someone out there, but right now I fell on a bit of a downer in that direction. I know its simple but you can't make something foolproof.

Best Wishes

 

[Lucker]

little confused here by what appears to be diametrically opposed views. Is your final position "have surgery slightly before the surgeons say "you'd better have it or the risk you'll die from it is grater than the risks you'll die from sugery" (which is how it was in the 70's).

I think the idea is to do what you can to delay the indications for surgery as far as possible, but when the surgery is close and imminent, to have it soon.