sport activities

[doberman]

Hi I am happy to report that I am able to play hockey twice a week and spin once a week. Feeling good. I do however suffer from dizziness and lightheadedness from time to time. I get light headed if I get up or sit down too quickly, and once in a while I get dizzy although it could be blood sugar levels.
I have an apt. with the Heart Doc soon but wondered if anyone has had similar occurrences. I am over 50 now but there was a time I could do back flips, summersaults etc. I would likely pass out of I tried any of that today!

Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.
Mark Twain

 

[JeffM]

Hey John - After my AVR, I started having problems with lightheadedness upon standing. It got VERY annoying and a bit worrisome except that everything seemed in order from all of my cardio and GP check-ups. I had been taking FlowMax for BPH (benign prostate hypertrophy?) for about 4 years. Although lightheadedness upon standing is one of the more common side effects of this med., I dismissed it as the cause because I wasn't experiencing it prior to my AVR surgery. Fast forward to November 2010 when I had 1/3 of my prostate pulvarized with a Green Light Lazer Procedure. Now I'm no longer on FloMax and the lightheadedness is almost completely gone. Rarely, rarely do I get lightheaded...no more than I did when I was a kid.

Explanation? It was the FlowMax. Why did I not have the lightheadedness prior to my AVR? Who knows. Here's my guess: from my echos since my AVR in Sept. of '09, there has always been a comment along the lines of "expected septal delay consistent with open heart surgery". I asked my cardio about this and she explained that it's common and not of concern. Since my prostate surgery, I'm in transition to a new cardio (haven't chosen one yet) and haven't run my theory by a medical professional, but I wonder if that delay is just enough to effect the heart's ability to react to standing quickly such that there is a brief loss in BP. Perhaps some other members can shed light on this.

Separately, I do get a little dizzy now and then and occasionally get double vision. But these occur only a handful of times a month and I experienced them for years prior to my AVR. They last for a few seconds to maybe a minute typically and I feel they are related to migraines, which have increased in frequency since my AVR.

Not sure if migraines and FlowMax factor into your life, but I thought I'd throw my experiences and theory out there for consideration.

 

[AgilityDog]

Sounds maybe like positional/orthostatic hypotension: Stand up, blood rushes out of head, or circulation can't keep up with positional change, get lightheaded/dizzy, sometimes black out. Sometimes it can happen just standing, too.

We can't blame your meds since you don't appear to be ON any!

I had lots of that with BP meds needing adjusted, and when my aortic valve was going bad last spring. Nothing since, or at least nothing worth mentioning.

Seems like you are doing the right thing to get it checked out. And do check the blood sugar issue. I don't know anything about that.

 

[nate_c]

I get light headed if I get up or sit down too quickly.

Thanks for posting. I've wondered about this too. Since my AVR, I've had these symptoms come and go. Mostly, it's just mild for me, but every once in a while I'll stand up quickly and have to check myself when the lights start to go out. (Never happens for me if I'm going from standing to sitting down though.) Sometimes I'll get a little headache too. My bp, always pretty low, dropped even lower post-op, and I'm sure that has a lot to do with it. Has your bp been low lately? I asked my cardiologist about it a couple months ago during a routine visit, and he told me to make sure I was drinking lots of fluids, since this would help with the bp. I was on a beta blocker for a while, and that definitely made it worse, but sounds like that's not the issue for you. Best of luck to you.

 

[Philip B]

Dizzy?

Dizzy?

There are so many things that can cause one to feel light-headed and dizzy it's hard to even guess at a cause. It could be heart, exercise or medication related, but it could be something simple like an inner ear infection.

In 2009, I had serious issues with getting dizzy and blacking out after sustaining a TBI in a hit & run bicycle accident. It took over nine months for an issue involving my inner ear to settle down. Recently, I added some new wrinkles to my exercise routine and I've noted some dizziness. It's obviously related to some head movements that have stirred up the condition in my inner ear again.

I think the advice in previous posts about getting checked out by your doctor is good stuff.

-Philip

 

[doberman]

Hmm that is interesting, I am not on ay meds but I do get migraine auras followed by tiredness as opposed to headaches. Prior to my surgery I would get the migraine aura and very bad headaches, the headaches are now much much less intense. My cardiologist has no theories on the migraines as it seems no one really understands the cause. I do not have high blood pressure but do find at times drinking water makes me feel better if I am experiencing dizziness etc. At any rate thanks for the information. There are similarities in our symptoms but I will have to wait for my doc to figure it out.

 

[bdryer]

Are you taking glucosamine sulphate to SUPPOSEDLY promote cartilage production ? [This homeopathic remedy is compliant with ACT by the way]. My experience with this product over years, caused migraines. As a hockey dude, I place high odds that you have heard, or are taking this product. If you are, throw it in the trash container. Their is NO conclusive research proving that this product enhances the development of cartilage. It will take several weeks to dissipate the chemical from your system.

 

[Davros]

Hi John, Been 12 years since my valve op. I do get light headed time to time. Happens when its cold while playing golf (put it down to the cold weather affecting my head) & when I'm tired. I get shimmering effects in my eyes, usually the left eye and its a zig-zagged oval around my vision. Its even there when I close my eyes. Migraines occur sometimes and rest is the only solution. May happen 3 or 4 times a year. I put it down to tiredness. If you figure out whats causing it you can come up with a solution.