I am in not very good shape, fighting for my life. I am in atrial fib after my AVRmin Cleveland. My heart monitor is jumping all over. They have injected me with about three separate drugs trying to stabilize my heart. The cardiac e nurse told me that my heart is trying to adjust to the new valve. I,am scared and don't think I will live to,see tomorrow. Has this ever happened to,anyon you know and did they survive it?
Prayers needed
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ski girl
Well-known member
Canon this is really quite normal - although scary. My heart went all nutty after each of my surgeries, and kept at it for several weeks. I had a-fib, atrial flutter, tachycardia, and my favourite - ventricular trigeminy! I had to have a cardioversion in the end to get me out of a-fib/tachycardia.
You will absolutely live to tomorrow and beyond, I know it's difficult when you're next to a beeping monitor, but your heart is doing nothing terribly unusual and is just trying to sort itself out. Hopefully it does that soon!
You will absolutely live to tomorrow and beyond, I know it's difficult when you're next to a beeping monitor, but your heart is doing nothing terribly unusual and is just trying to sort itself out. Hopefully it does that soon!
Oilman
Well-known member
I felt the same with my first 8 hrs post op. I did get two cardio version zap's in ICU for what they thought was Afib, the heart was dancing, nothing changed with the zap's, and then had a echo done in ICU, that made me think something was wrong, it wasn't, a young tech struggled to get his echo info, and I wasn't so pleasant to him as I thought he took too long. I too felt like I was going to die, and thought something was really wrong with me. I later learned that they have seen it all before. My heart settle down with just a high HR in no time. I was ensured by the surgeon the next morning that all went good and I will be just fine. I'm sure you will be fine and looked after with great care. Try to get some rest, the heart will settle down soon. Have faith in the care givers. Take care.
Yes, it happened to me a few days after AVR. It's not unusual. You will be fine. It couldn't have happened to you in a better place; you have lots of people to take care of you.
AZ Don
Well-known member
I was hooked up to a backup pacemaker until the last day or so in the hospital. The first night it kicked in. Not only did my heart rate drop but it was out of the sinus rhythm as well. As nice as it was to get that wire out of my heart I was a little nervous to lose that backup pacemaker, but my heart seems to be doing fine without it 2 weeks later.
Best wishes for your recovery.
Best wishes for your recovery.
I'm still in atrial fib. Really crazy. 125-99-130-84-and so forth. Makes breathing difficult. Do you really this will remedy itself maybe through cardio version? Have any of you been cardio vertex? What was that like? We're you Conscious during it?
I went into a-fib one week after avr that would not clear up ... I was cardio-verted (shocked) back into normal rate ... they put you to sleep, shock you and then wake you right back up ... no pain... no problem and no a-fib since (7 years) ... they will get this resolved and you will be fine ... try to relax ...
I think I'm the poster child for screwy heart rhythm issues. Immediately following my valve replacement my heart went into and out of afib, went very fast (up to 200 BPM) and very slow, all sorts of cranky unusual rhythms, then eventually my heart would just plain stop for 15 to 20 seconds at a time. Let me tell you, it is not a good thing to watch your own heart monitor go "flat-line." The last time that happened I woke up with a crowd of docs and techs surrounding me. At that point we opted for a permanent pacemaker. The electrophysiologist said that they could continue treating me with various meds, but the pacemaker would set it right and keep it there. I just aksed them "What are we waiting for?" On day 5 I had the pacemaker implanted, and on day 9 I went home. Initially I had several additional meds, but after a couple of months of "good behavior" they were discontinued. My last instance of afib was on day 30. I started out 100% dependent upon my pacemaker, now I'm down to "only" 17%. That is enough to convince me that it would have been a very rough recovery for me had I not chosen the pacemaker.
I'm not trying to convince you to get a pacemaker. I am trying to convince you that they can deal with this. Short of catastrophic heart failure, they can manage almost anything to a level at which you can go home. You will probably have a whole bag of meds for a while, and you may have a permanent pacemaker, but you will go home and back to your life. All of my rhythm issues happened so soon after surgery that I didn't really grasp the gravity of the situation. I just lived in the moment and decided what to do when presented with choices. I have no regrets, and I'm still here living MY life.
I'm not trying to convince you to get a pacemaker. I am trying to convince you that they can deal with this. Short of catastrophic heart failure, they can manage almost anything to a level at which you can go home. You will probably have a whole bag of meds for a while, and you may have a permanent pacemaker, but you will go home and back to your life. All of my rhythm issues happened so soon after surgery that I didn't really grasp the gravity of the situation. I just lived in the moment and decided what to do when presented with choices. I have no regrets, and I'm still here living MY life.
sood
Well-known member
Sorry to hear about the issues you are having! As the other people experienced with what you are going through are saying, try to stay calm. You are in the best place to get the attention you need and God will pull you through this!
Fortunately, I converted to sinus rhythm this afternoon. I have a persistent fever that returns to normal only to come back to about 101.2. Is this normal? I have been doing a good job of coughing and usin the spirometer. Plus have been walking about 150 yards four times per day. Can you think of anything else I should be doing? Any sputum I bring up is clear. Is is common to develop a low grade fever like I seem to have?
ski girl
Well-known member
Yay for sinus rhythm. Don't be surprised if it swaps back to a fib the heart has a lot of figuring out to do! Fevers are common too. You are actually having a normal garden variety recovery!
Try to stop worrying, it won't help your recovery. Think positive thoughts, do your breathing exercises, walk MORE, and tell yourself that you are NOT sick, cos you're not. What you are is FIXED and you just have to get through a little while of recovery.
Try to stop worrying, it won't help your recovery. Think positive thoughts, do your breathing exercises, walk MORE, and tell yourself that you are NOT sick, cos you're not. What you are is FIXED and you just have to get through a little while of recovery.
Yup, you're right on track, my friend. The up/down minor fever is very common. It may subside while you're in the hospital, and it may take longer. Mine lasted until I had been home for a while. You're walking farther than I could even when they released me to go home.
