6 weeks post op....plus a question

[Mitral-Man]

It is coming up on 6 weeks since my mitral valve replacement. Pretty routine recovery I guess. Thought I had a blood clot one day but tests showed it negative. ER Doc says pinched nerve instead. I guess the surgery hurting is/was like what everyone else experiences. I sneezed for the first time at week 5. Hurt like heck for 30 seconds. Hours later I seen the incission had bled a little. Luckily it stopped on its own. INR has been 2.4 to 3. I need to learn more on what foods I should watch out for. I am doing better with that now. I see the surgeon for the 6 week post op visit next thursday. I am pretty sure I am on target as to where I should be at this point.

Now, my question. After surgery had taken place, the surgeon visited with the family in the waiting room to describe how things went. Basically OK. He tried to repair but had to replace with a St Jude 33mm valve. My concerns is about something I knew (for about 4 weeks anyway) going in to all of this. My heart had enlarged significantly over the years (didn't know I had heart problems til last June). The surgeons comment to the family was he wished he would have gotten to me 5 years ago. He also said I will have heart problems in the future. As you can guess, that isn't exactly what I wanted to hear. My question is, has anyone here been diagnosed with a enlarged heart problem and has any symptoms crept up on you and if so, how long after surgery? Months? Year? Years? Either way, I guess I will take one day at a time and go from there...Thanks, Gary

 

[Susan BAV]

Hi Gary - I've read that some degree of enlargement can get better post-op with the new valve. Hopefully that will be the case for you! Sorry I don't have specific statistics; maybe someone else will post something like that for you. Take care.

 

[temp69]

Gary: I have an enlarged left ventricle and was told it wouldn't be a problem once my valve was replaced. I feel great, now 8 months post-op, so the future can be bright for you. sending along good vibes.

t

 

[Mitral-Man]

6 weeks post op....plus a question

Thanks for the replys. Hopefully it works as you say. I know both my surgeon and the cardiologist said the heart will not "shrink" in size. That damage has been done. The primary doctor says it will. He described it like a weightlifter. The more they work the bulkier they get and when they quit, they reduce in size. So in turn, my heart enlarged and got thicker becuse it had to work harder to pump the blood past the reguritation point. Now since I have my new mechanical valve in place, the heart doesn't have to work as hard, thus it can reduce in size, back to normal. Sounds good in theory but I don't think it works that way. So I tend to agree with the surgeon and cardiologist on this. I'll try to dig for more answers when I see the surgeon next week. I guess I am looking for a time line as to what to expect when it comes to living with an enlarged heart. ....Gary (one time little devil as seen in the photo)

 

[Der Biermeister]

I know both my surgeon and the cardiologist said the heart will not "shrink" in size.
Gary -- there is an opportunity for your heart to undergo what is called "remodeling". My heart was quite enlarged just before surgery. My surgeon was real "iffy" about my heart remodeling. Maybe he just didn't want to go on record?

Anyway, 8 months after surgery, a checkup (with echo done) showed a completely normal heart in size and function. My ejection fraction had also returned to normal.

Now - I may be wrong here, but I attribute MOST of my success to the fact that I have been relentless in my walking program. I walk 4 miles a day and have only missed 6 days since last April. I push myself a lot of the time on my walks. Also, while not perfect, I DO try to abide by a decent diet, limiting salt intake, fried foods, deserts, etc., while increasing intake of fruits and veggies.

 

[savysmommy]

As I understood it, your heart will shrink back to a normal size after surgery, given, there isnt lasting damage. Sounds like what your surgeon said was that there is some damage to the cardiac muscle, so it may not shrink all the way back.
My heart shrunk immediatly after surgery and continued to shrink even after my 1 year check up. On my last post op check up, at 1 1/2 years out, it had shrunk even more.

 

[Superbob]

I had very much an enlarged heart, too, going in. As has been said here already, I understand that some "remodeling" goes on gradually following surgery. Two years post-op, I am due for a cardio checkup this spring, so I will be posting my numbers for guidance from the well-informed folks on here. Best wishes to you!

 

[Mitral-Man]

6 weeks post op....plus a question

Thanks again everyone for the encouraging posts regarding heart size reduction. Maybe there is something to it. Bob, please do post your echo results if you can. I had my last echo during the 5th week post op time frame. I haven't heard anything so I consider that good news. I am not saying my heart size improved any but I am assuming the EF went up from 35%. They said if anything was wrong they would call. They haven't!...Thanks, Gary

 

[Jkm7]

I always feel uncomfortable about relying upon them to call 'if there is something wrong' but you won't hear from us if all is well.

There is too much risk of your tests sitting on someone's desk. That they might not even be reviewed accidentally.

Do most of you agree we should always follow up to get the results of our tests? If for no other reasons than to be sure they don't slip through the cracks and be ignored. These tests are important and, afterall, we've paid for them (or our insurance did) ..... may as well inquire as to the results.

I'm sorry for the speech. I hope all goes very well for you.

 

[Karlynn]

I agree. You should always speak with someone about your test results, regardless of what those results are. And you should get copies of the tests and reports for your own at-home records.

 

[Magic8Ball]

Gary, my cardio also thought my heart would not remodel as it had been faulty for too long.

6 weeks after surgery i has shrunk to within acceptable range from being enlarged.

The heart is a wonderful forgiving muscle..