11 Weeks Post Op (goods & bads)

Hello, my name is Joe. On 05/14/2024 I had my second AVR. I am currently 11 Weeks Post op, with a St Jude, and feel really good.


I do not remember exactly where I was when it started but I have a pounding heartbeat, as of 4 days ago. It feels as if someone is dribbling a basketball in my chest. The problem is that it is CONSTANT, for 4 days now. I was thinking AFib or Tachy.


I went to my cardiologist today. Ekg was normal but that is only a ten second telling of a much larger story.


The good news is I had a 30% EF when I was sent home from the hospital after surgery, with a Life Vest.......and now my echo today showed a 50% EF.


I was sent home today with a holter monitor, but said bye bye to my Life Vest.


Trading some goods for some bads. But definitely need to figure out this pounding beat.


If anyone has any words or wisdom I'll gladly take them. Thanks for listening.

I got paroxysmal afib this spring - it does feel like it is pounding, fast and it is also irregularly irregular. I have a pulse oximeter with audio beeps and when I put that on it read 250, 200, 120 constantly shifting from second to second and the sound of the pulses was chaotic. I went to the ER where they verified afib and then they cardioverted me. The afib came back a couple times a week for about 8 weeks (lasting 4-10 hours each time and resolving on its own). Fingers crossed it has been 8 weeks without one. They put me on Eliquis to reduce stroke risk. I have my native mitral valve (repaired in 2002) which is already an elevated stroke risk for mitral stenosis. With afib plus mitral stenosis it’s a 20x risk or something like that. You’re already on warfarin I assume so that is good. It seemed to make everyone much more chill about the afib once I was anticoagulated. They also prefer that it’s resolving on its own and that episodes last less than 24 hours.

I will say that they put me on a 24 hour Holter, but of course I did not have an episode then. In addition to using the pulse oximeter to verify I am having episodes, I purchased a $90 device called a Kardia. It’s a very basic ekg that only detects afib. You put your forefingers on two leads and it displays the waveform and pulse rate on a phone app. It’s a nice verification to have, the one I got is the size of a credit card.

Probably all irrelevant and might just be a post surgery glitch but just in case it’s helpful. I’m glad to hear your EF improved so much! I hope you’re feeling better too.

dornole said:

I purchased a $90 device called a Kardia. It’s a very basic ekg that only detects afib. You put your forefingers on two leads and it displays the waveform and pulse rate on a phone app. It’s a nice verification to have, the one I got is the size of a credit card.

Probably all irrelevant and might just be a post surgery glitch but just in case it’s helpful.

Click to expand...

Yes, it's helpful. Sublimely so! I should look up Kardia. If nothing else, it could be a reassurance if/when something feels off.

V__ said:

I should look up Kardia. If nothing else, it could be a reassurance if/when something feels off.

Click to expand...

I have a Kardia Mobile 6L.

They documentation says " With KardiaMobile 6L, you can detect AFib, Bradycardia, Tachycardia and Normal Sinus Rhythm right on your smartphone. KardiaMobile 6L does not check for heart attack. "

It is useful. However, a user may sometimes get scared about something that actually isn't a problem.

jag004 said:

Hello, my name is Joe. On 05/14/2024 I had my second AVR. I am currently 11 Weeks Post op, with a St Jude, and feel really good.


I do not remember exactly where I was when it started but I have a pounding heartbeat, as of 4 days ago. It feels as if someone is dribbling a basketball in my chest. The problem is that it is CONSTANT, for 4 days now. I was thinking AFib or Tachy.


I went to my cardiologist today. Ekg was normal but that is only a ten second telling of a much larger story.


The good news is I had a 30% EF when I was sent home from the hospital after surgery, with a Life Vest.......and now my echo today showed a 50% EF.


I was sent home today with a holter monitor, but said bye bye to my Life Vest.


Trading some goods for some bads. But definitely need to figure out this pounding beat.


If anyone has any words or wisdom I'll gladly take them. Thanks for listening.

Click to expand...

Congratulations, that's a good jump, from 40% pre-surgery to 30% post-op, and now up to normal 50%. Did they give you any meds to that (EF) regard? or it was just a matter of time?