Two Weeks Ago Today

So it’s two weeks ago today since I had my bicuspid aortic valve replaced with a mechanical valve. I have to say that the whole thing went much better than I expected and I feel that I’m recovering quite well so far.
Unfortunately I developed atrial fibrillation not long after surgery and had to spend a few extra days in intensive care and was then transferred to a high dependency unit to continue to monitor and treat the condition. The afib is now under control although I’m on medication to keep on top of it.
Two days after surgery chest drains and catheter were removed which wasn’t pleasant but I was then able to move around the ward a little although I had to wheel the stand around with me which housed drips containing medications. Due to the afib I was connected up to a heart monitor right up until discharge which was nine days after surgery, annoying but necessary.
I have to say I was terrified before the op, but it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I expected. The pain was bad but manageable and the morphine worked a treat, although I was glad to wean off it a couple of days before being discharged, I’m only taking paracetamol now and the pain isn’t too bad.
Since discharge I have been taking a couple of short walks a day and plan to slowly increase these to improve my fitness. My INR target is 2.5 with a range of 2-3 which so far I’ve been in range. My plan is to self test which the anticoagulation nurse is happy with, but she wants me to come in to test for the first few weeks just to make sure I’m stable. Apart from a little tiredness and some discomfort in my chest I don’t really feel like I’ve had open heart surgery two weeks ago. A big thanks to the NHS and all the hospital staff who looked after me so well.
If anyone is waiting for this surgery I would just like to say don’t worry, even with minor complications it is nowhere near as bad as you imagine.
Also Thanks for all the advice I’ve had on here over the years. Richie.

Music to my ears as I am headed to surgery real soon! Glad to hear you are recovering well.

dornole said:

Music to my ears as I am headed to surgery real soon! Glad to hear you are recovering well.

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Good luck, I’m sure everything will go smoothly. Thanks

Thanks for sharing your experience. This kind of story can be hugely reassuring to people in the waiting room. When I was in the waiting room, I went through several years' worth of forum archives and read all the stories I could find. Happy continued recovery!

Welcome to the other side Richie!

Richie Rich said:

Apart from a little tiredness and some discomfort in my chest I don’t really feel like I’ve had open heart surgery two weeks ago.

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That is great news! I'm glad that things went so well for you.

Richie Rich said:

The afib is now under control although I’m on medication to keep on top of it.

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Sorry to hear about the afib. This is super common after valve surgery. The good news is that the majority of post surgical afib resolves, so hopefully in a few months you will not even need to take the afib meds.

I also had post surgical afib while in the hospital. I was put on amiodarone for this. Amiodarone is nasty stuff and I really wanted off of it. Two months after surgery I asked my cardiologist if I could discontinue. He had me wear a Zio Patch for 2 weeks to monitor my heart rhythms. He saw no sign of anymore afib, so I was able to go off the meds.

Zoltania said:

Thanks for sharing your experience. This kind of story can be hugely reassuring to people in the waiting room. When I was in the waiting room, I went through several years' worth of forum archives and read all the stories I could find. Happy continued recovery!

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I also spent hours reading about others experiences, so hopefully my experience of heart valve surgery can help others. Thanks

Chuck C said:

Welcome to the other side Richie!


That is great news! I'm glad that things went so well for you.


Sorry to hear about the afib. This is super common after valve surgery. The good news is that the majority of post surgical afib resolves, so hopefully in a few months you will not even need to take the afib meds.

I also had post surgical afib while in the hospital. I was put on amiodarone for this. Amiodarone is nasty stuff and I really wanted off of it. Two months after surgery I asked my cardiologist if I could discontinue. He had me wear a Zio Patch for 2 weeks to monitor my heart rhythms. He saw no sign of anymore afib, so I was able to go off the meds.

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My surgeon told me AFib is the most common complication, it was a little worrying when my resting pulse was 130 bpm. I have also been put on amiodrone and bisoprolalol which seems to work. I’ve been told I can only take the amiodrone for 4 to 6 weeks due to side effects. Hopefully it’ll be ok by then. Thanks

Richie Rich said:

I’ve been told I can only take the amiodrone for 4 to 6 weeks due to side effects.

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That's good, as it does have negative long term side effects. I would strongly suggest testing INR frequently while on amiodarone. It competes with warfarin for clearance and raises INR. This also means that as they wean you off of it, your INR may drop. Amiodarone has an extremely long half life, so it might continue to affect your INR for a couple of months after taking it. My initial INR target was 3.0 and I had been stable upon release from the hospital at 3.1. Within 4 days of being on amiodarone, my INR shot to 9.7 and I had to take prescription vitamin K to bring it down.

This study may be of interest:

"To avoid bleeding, the initiation of amiodarone should be accompanied by closer INR monitoring."

https://www.jthjournal.org/article/S1538-7836(22)03598-X/fulltext

Chuck C said:

That's good, as it does have negative long term side effects. I would strongly suggest testing INR frequently while on amiodarone. It competes with warfarin for clearance and raises INR. This also means that as they wean you off of it, your INR may drop. Amiodarone has an extremely long half life, so it might continue to affect your INR for a couple of months after taking it. My initial INR target was 3.0 and I had been stable upon release from the hospital at 3.1. Within 4 days of being on amiodarone, my INR shot to 9.7 and I had to take prescription vitamin K to bring it down.

This study may be of interest:

"To avoid bleeding, the initiation of amiodarone should be accompanied by closer INR monitoring."

https://www.jthjournal.org/article/S1538-7836(22)03598-X/fulltext

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The AC nurse told me something similar and said she’d prefer me not to be on it atall. So far I’ve been fairly stable, but it’s early days. I have an appointment tomorrow to test my INR so I’ll see how it’s going then, fingers crossed.
Thanks for the advice I’ll keep an eye on it.