Set Back After Surgery

Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Valve Replacement Forums

Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
L

lucky401

Active member
Joined
Mar 30, 2008
Messages
41
Location
Ambler, Pennsylvania
In June 2008 I had a aortic valve replacement, an ascending aortic anneurysm (aorta replacement), mitral valve repaired and a hole in the heart that was unknown repaired. I started my recovery but never felt terrific. I thought I was going to have all this enery that I never had before but it took a very long time for me to start to have some energy and by September I was starting to work out on the tread mill and at the end of September I felt pretty good and was up to a mile on the tread mill at about 3.0 miles per hour. It was a tough workout but I felt I was making progress. Then in the beginning of October I started feeling worse again and I got a cold. Progressively I got shorter of breath as time went on. By the end of October I had trouble shopping and keeping up at work (walking to other offices and places on campus). I went to the doctor and they thought it was from my cold and subsequent bronchitus. Finally on 11/10 my breathing got so bad I couldn't talk while at rest - my doctor sent me to the hospital and it turns out I have congestive heart failure. I had an echo in July of 2008 showing my ejection fraction at 55%. The one I had on 11/11 shows my ejection fraction to be around 25 to 30 %. I never had swollen ankles or legs and my weight did not fluctuate that much. I had been to the cardiologist complaining the week before I went in the hospital and he scheduled another echo and a stress test that I ultimately had in the hospital. The blood test that indicates heart failure did show it. Mine read 874 and the cardiologist said 200 is normal. So anyway now I have this and they think it might have been from a virus. I am feeling a lot better since all the fluid is out of my lungs, abdomen and liver. But now I have to go to a heart failure unit at the hospital approximately once a week for a few months in order to monitor everything. Has anyone had this happen to them? I am hoping the heart muscle will get stronger through my medications and the exercise I will begin to start in the next week or so. I am so disappointed about this set back. I am 58 years old and was hoping to feel energetic again after my surgery. I am hoping for some kind of recovery or are my hopes unrealistic? Thanks for listening and for your help.
 
I am really sorry to read that you're dealing with this setback. I did not have congestive heart failure per se following my replacement, but I did have pericardial constriction and there are some similarities with the two.

I have learned how to control my symptoms but it took a very long time. With your new diagnosis, it may take you awhile to figure out what you need to do, or need not to do. It is my understanding that you can move in and out of the differing stages associated with heart failure so perhaps your weekly trips to the hospital unit will help you identify and cope better with this disease process.

Please continue to keep us updated on your progress because this is an issue that is of interest to many of us on VR.

Best wishes:)
 
lucky401 said:
I never had swollen ankles or legs and my weight did not fluctuate that much. I had been to the cardiologist complaining the week before I went in the hospital and he scheduled another echo and a stress test that I ultimately had in the hospital. The blood test that indicates heart failure did show it. Mine read 874 and the cardiologist said 200 is normal.
Click to expand...

Was this blood test a BNP or Brain natriuretic peptide blood test? If so, did they also do a BMP or Basic Metabolic Profile? Do you have copies of these reports? If not, get them!
 
Ross,

I believe it was a BNP and the hospital clinic just did another BNP and a BMP last week. I go tomorrow morning and should have the results of those tests. Could you explain what they mean and what I should look for?

Thanks.

Barb
 
I'm sorry to hear about your setback...i know how disheartening it must be to be having all these problems. I never had valve replacement surgery due to other health problems, so i really don't have any answers, but i pray that your health starts improving and that you'll be feeling better soon. Yes, it was probably a BNP. I had one done in Nov., 2007 when i was having major congestive heart failure (2,300) and they said that was the definitive test for congestive heart failure.

Best wishes,

Dawn-Marie
 
lucky401 said:
Ross,

I believe it was a BNP and the hospital clinic just did another BNP and a BMP last week. I go tomorrow morning and should have the results of those tests. Could you explain what they mean and what I should look for?

Thanks.

Barb
Click to expand...

If your not swelling, I'm not convinced you have heart failure. Your going to hold water if you are. Did they do any pulmonary function tests at all?

I'm not a doctor, but I do have CHF and frequently test for indicators as to how bad it is.

This link explains it best, I think, oh yeah, here are the normal BNP ranges too,

Results

BNP levels below 100 pg/mL indicate no heart failure
BNP levels of 100-300 suggest heart failure is present
BNP levels above 300 pg/mL indicate mild heart failure
BNP levels above 600 pg/mL indicate moderate heart failure.
BNP levels above 900 pg/mL indicate severe heart failure.

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/services/tests/labtests/bnp.aspx

If you truly have CHF, your BUN and Creatinine levels will be high also

http://www.rush.edu/webapps/rml/RMLRangesBMP.jsp

Get copies of your test results!!!!!!
 
Sorry for your setback in all this,it's sad when things

don't turn out as planned for us.i have no advice just

it not always is good things we have to put up with

and not as fortunate always,i hope you get your definate

answers to all of these hurdles.keep us posted.

zipper2 (DEB)
 
Ross,

Thank you for the information. Hopefully this morning I will get the latest blood test results.

In my post I didn't mention that while in the hospital they took of 10 pounds of water from me in 2 or 3 days. It's just that the swelling was not in my legs but in my abdomen and lungs and liver.

The doc said the stress test I had in the hospital also showed that my heart is in a weakened state.

So I will see what happens and if I get this again. So far my weight has been pretty steady all within 1/2 pound.

Thank you again everyone for your support and kind words.

Barb
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top