So I get the bad news

[JohnnyE]

So I get the bad news that my aortic valve is not what it should be, no symptoms or issues, discovered during and Ultra sounds stress echo looking for a different problem which it turns out did not exist .
After the Doc tells me the valve might last 5 years, 10 years or the rest of my life, says I must now eat on heart healthy diet and exercise, I eat pretty well and do cardio 3 days per week on a pro tread mill.
The diet I can find, but he did not tell me how much exercise I can do or not do, No weights? I usually only do low wt high reps , no heavy wts

I have a friend who had his valve replace and said the paleo or Mediterranean diet ?

 

[cldlhd]

Regarding exercise and weights well that would be dependent on things nobody out here knows. If you have an aneurysm and what size is it if so. Condition of the valve? These are things your doc is going to have to tell you.

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Johnny - what did the doc say was wrong with your aortic valve ? Is it bicuspid like quite a few of us here have ? The reason I ask is that in your other thread you sound like this is the end. Your doc says your heart is strong, that suggests that you do not have heart disease but rather a birth defect or damage due to something like rheumatic fever which means you are healthy ! Surgery, if you ever have to have it, is much safer if you are healthy.

I eat a Paleo diet, started that when I was diagnosed with diabetes just over ten years ago. It's supposed to be heart healthy too and I think it is. My cholesterol is way high but it is high becasue I have such high HDL and low triglycerides which gives a very protective profile. I've just had a CT angiogram which looks for calcium and atherosclerosis (blockages of the coronary arteries) and my arteries are completely clear, also zero calcium score.

I do weight lifting, quite heavy weight lifting considering, and slow reps, three or four to complete failure in each exercise. I did some weight lifting right up to the day before I had my bicuspid aortic valve replaced. I had lowered the weights somewhat the last three months before surgery, but still they were not light weights. I also do a lot of walking, probably about five miles a day.

My bicuspid aortic valve was first discovered from the noise of the murmur when I was 25. I didn't need surgery until I was 60.

Ask your doc for more information and ask him specific questions about exercise and lifestyle.

 

[dick0236]

Comparing your situation to mine is a little like comparing apples and oranges since I've already had the surgery,....but FWIW I also gym exercise three times per week on treadmill and low/moderate weight assist machines.....no free weights. I let my body dictate the level of exercise but my concentration is on reps, not weight.

I have never tried to adhere to any kind of a diet. I only eat one meal per day(by choice) and it is a generally healthy normal meal consisting of a meat/fish, starch and a vegetable or salad........plus a daily bag of microwave popcorn and cookies/milk at nite. Kinda boring I know,.....but I'm old and keep getting older so I guess it works.

 

[epstns]

Well, Johnny, it is hard to know what to tell you without information about you, the patient. We would need to know at least your age, the specific heart condition your doc says you have, whether there is any suspicion of aneurysm, your general health status, etc.

I am now 69, and was diagnosed with a "probable" bicuspid aortic valve at age 52. At that time, my valve was described as Moderate-to-severe. I was a runner/gym rat, exercising 5 to 7 days a week for many years at the time. I continued with all of my normal activities except for changing from heavier weights (up to my total body weight) to light weights (15-lb hand weights) but increasing from sets of 10 reps to sets of 35 reps. I continued that way until my valve was replaced at age 63. Now, 6 years post-op, I am still "doing it all" except I have had to stop running (knees just won't have it) and switch to an elliptical machine for a few miles a day.

My suggestion is to have a conversation with your doc, and ask for the specifics of your condition. Then ask specific questions about what activities are or are not recommended. If you have any frustration with what you are told, then come on back here and we can talk it through. I've had many "discussions" with my cardio about what I can, will, or should not do. We always manage to work it out.

 

[Sheffy1124]

Hello there! I just joined this site yesterday. I saw that you were online so I looked you up. You had the same surgery as me. Bicuspid replaced with a mechanical valve (don't know if you have a mechanical valve) and I also had an aortic aneurysm fixed. Just thought I'd introduce myself. My surgery was last year at 38. My name is Matt.