Palpitations and Pounding Heart

[Guest]

I'm 4 weeks post-op and doing well. I am experiencing slow palpitations from time to time which last from 1min to sometimes a few hours. It's definitely disconcerting but my cardiologist is aware of it and I have already been hooked up to a 48hr holster monitor.

I also am experiencing a pounding heart. When I take a deep breath, the pounding is more pronounced. The valve ticking sound doesn't even bother me anymore, but the pounding is definitely discomforting. I know that it's more likely caused from my heart remodelling since it was quite enlarged pre surgery.

Have you also experienced similar symptoms? If so, how did you cope with them?

 

[Paleowoman]

The pounding being more pronounced when you take a deep breath is something I can relate to, also it's more pronounced when I lean forward. I wonder if it's just that we hear it moure loudly when inhaling deeply or when leaning forward as the pericardium is much nearer the sternum or the lungs filling fully make for a bigger 'sound box'. so to speak so you notice the pounding heart then. Also heart rate is always slightly faster inhaling than exhaling - that is perfectly normal, it would be abnormal for the heart rate to be constant on both inhaling and exhaling. If you've had the 48 hr holter monitor and everything checks out there then I think it could possibly be the 'new' valve being different from the old one which you were used to for years, plus 4 weeks out from surgery your heart is still recovering from the tramua of surgery.

 

[river-wear]

I had the pounding too. Sometimes it was so bad I could count my pulse just by the feeling in my chest - no hands required. After a couple months I only felt it when taking a deep breath. Then about 3-4 months post-op it went away completely.

I still get occasional palpitations. Around 6-weeks post-op I would sometimes get them for 20 minutes or so after laying down to sleep. If they really annoyed me, I would sit back up for a couple minutes and then lay down - usually they would go away then.

Hang in there! Sounds like you're doing great.

 

[epstns]

I'm now about 3 1/2 years post-op, and I still note pounding heartbeat immediately upon lying down flat on my back. At first I thought it was that my pacemaker's motion detector was somehow being stimulated, but I've later learned that I'm not paced all the time, yet I still have the pounding. It only lasts some seconds, and I've learned to just ignore it.

Another possible reason for the now-felt pounding is the fact that most surgeons, I'm told, do not re-close the pericardial sac once they've completed the valve surgery. I don't remember why this is done, but I do remember being somewhat surprised when I was told of it. Maybe they leave the sac unclosed to avoid the possibility of fluid and pressure build-up, that could lead to congestive heart failure following surgery.

 

[big_L]

I couldn't believe the difference in my pulse immediately after surgery. I wouldn't call it pounding, it was more like my entire head throbbed with each heartbeat. When I talked to the cardiologist about it, he said that your valve is now 3-4 times larger in area than the old one. Your body is adjusting and it'll be less noticeable with time. Now, 15 months later I don't notice it at all.

 

[LDM251]

I noticed it right after surgery too. I was sitting up in the chair a couple of days after surgery and was literally rocking because my heartbeat was so strong. The nurse told me the same thing Big_L said...your valve is larger...you have a normal heartbeat again. I really hadn't noticed it anymore until Saturday night. I'm almost 4 months post-op. I was laying on my side in bed and my heartbeat was so strong it was keeping me from sleeping. It was really strange. I rolled over on my back, didn't notice it anymore, and finally went back to sleep. The oddities we feel now that we're "normal" again!

 

[LDM251]

I noticed it right after surgery too. I was sitting up in the chair a couple of days after surgery and was literally rocking because my heartbeat was so strong. The nurse told me the same thing Big_L said...your valve is larger...you have a normal heartbeat again. I really hadn't noticed it anymore until Saturday night. I'm almost 4 months post-op. I was laying on my side in bed and my heartbeat was so strong it was keeping me from sleeping. It was really strange. I rolled over on my back, didn't notice it anymore, and finally went back to sleep. The oddities we feel now that we're normal again!

 

[LDM251]

I noticed it right after surgery too. I was sitting up in the chair a couple of days after surgery and was literally rocking because my heartbeat was so strong. The nurse told me the same thing BigL said...your valve is larger...you have a normal heartbeat again. I really hadn't noticed it anymore until Saturday night. I'm almost 4 months post-op. I was laying on my side in bed and my heartbeat was so strong it was keeping me from sleeping. It was really strange. I rolled over on my back, didn't notice it anymore, and finally went back to sleep. The oddities we feel now that we're normal again!

 

[LDM251]

Sorry about the multiple posts. I kept getting an error saying my message couldn't be posted! Grrrr...