6th Month Update

Today Marks 6 months since my open heart surgery! I wanted to check in and let everyone know how things have been progressing.

I'm happy to report I feel almost like my old self. The one remaining symptom is limited cardiovascular endurance. But I'm using a Garmin device with heart zone training and seeing slow but steady improvement. I ran for 30 minutes yesterday! Something I would have never thought possible ever again.

After completing cardiac rehab, I decided to pursue learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I let the professor know of my physical history and was assured its not an issue, to take it at my own pace and stop any activity if needed. Its been a few months now and has been tremendously helpful toward both my physical and mental improvement. I just remember to pace myself and control my breathing.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy your Friday!

Motion4663 said:

6 months since my open heart surgery! ...

After completing cardiac rehab, I decided to pursue learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

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Excellent idea when you are physically ready. Did you have a sternotomy? If so, please ensure it is fully healed before stressing it. Jiu Jitsu will stress it! Many times I've had people respond slowly when I "tap out" because the lock they've put me in ha reached the end of my range of motion. Also remember that beginners can be the most dangerous training partners because they don't understand how your body is responding to their actions, plus they get too excited. I had a full sternotomy last Sep; I am just now letting a trusted experienced karate black belt start putting wrist locks, arm bars, etc on me. I don't know when I will want to actually go to the ground.

3mm said:

Excellent idea when you are physically ready. Did you have a sternotomy? If so, please ensure it is fully healed before stressing it. Jiu Jitsu will stress it! Many times I've had people respond slowly when I "tap out" because the lock they've put me in ha reached the end of my range of motion. Also remember that beginners can be the most dangerous training partners because they don't understand how your body is responding to their actions, plus they get too excited. I had a full sternotomy last Sep; I am just now letting a trusted experienced karate black belt start putting wrist locks, arm bars, etc on me. I don't know when I will want to actually go to the ground.

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I had a partial sternotomy, and waited until the surgeon gave me clearance to train. And before rolling a standard question at my gym is 'any injuries to be aware of?' Appreciate the advice, happy training!

Thanks for the update Motion4663!

Motion4663 said:

I'm happy to report I feel almost like my old self.

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That's great news!

Motion4663 said:

The one remaining symptom is limited cardiovascular endurance.

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Give it time. I am a lifetime endurance athlete and I continued to see improvement in my cardio for a full 30 months after surgery. Right now I believe that I'm pretty close to my pre-surgery level. Any difference could be due to being a little more than three years older.

Motion4663 said:

After completing cardiac rehab, I decided to pursue learning Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

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Excellent! I've done BBJ for many years- many years before surgery and I picked it up after surgery as well. I started up again about 10 months after my surgery and then continued for another 18 months. I also had a mini-sternotomy. Be aware that you might get some tenderness in your ribs. A lot of stress is put on the rib cage during OHS. This might be even more so for a mini sternotomy, as they really have to pry that little 3.5 inch opening to get enough access. Anyway, for me, rib pain and tenderness would come and go for my first year back after returning to BJJ. It was not near the sternum, but between my ribs and in different parts of the rib cage. I suspect that it was my rib cage cartilage and intercostal muscsles, which probably get damaged during surgery, and likely take longer to repair than the bone. Anyway, I'm just n=1, but that was my personal experience and yours may vary.

Choose your training partners wisely. @3mm is correct that the most dangerous training partners are often the newbies. You might get tapped out a lot, but it is generally a lot safer training against those who are at least purple belts, as they should be more relaxed and focused on the technique, rather than getting excited when they think that they have their opponent close to tapping.

Best of luck with your continued recovery and please keep us posted.

Chuck C said:

Give it time. I am a lifetime endurance athlete and I continued to see improvement in my cardio for a full 30 months after surgery. Right now I believe that I'm pretty close to my pre-surgery level. Any difference could be due to being a little more than three years older.

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That's good to hear. Thank you for the advice, happy rolling!

Chuck C said:

A lot of stress is put on the rib cage during OHS. This might be even more so for a mini sternotomy, as they really have to pry that little 3.5 inch opening to get enough access. Anyway, for me, rib pain and tenderness would come and go for my first year back after returning to BJJ. It was not near the sternum, but between my ribs and in different parts of the rib cage. I suspect that it was my rib cage cartilage and intercostal muscsles, which probably get damaged during surgery, and likely take longer to repair than the bone. Anyway, I'm just n=1, but that was my personal experience and yours may vary

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Interesting! I also am a sample of 1; I've had no chest pain except for muscle cramps when I work out too hard.

Chuck C said:

I continued to see improvement in my cardio for a full 30 months after surgery

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9 months after surgery I am still seeing improvements in cardio.

That's great progress, good for you!

I too just reached the 6 month mark a couple of weeks ago and feeling good! Full sternotomy for BAV and Aortic root, a little residual pain sometimes when I sneeze or something, but not bad.
I've thought about taking up BJJ but probably a bit late in the game at almost 62.

The one rolling me is Mother Ocean... The good news is I've been training with her for 48 years and can usually read her pretty well.

The bad news is, she don't care if you tap.

SD Surfer said:

That's great progress, good for you!

I too just reached the 6 month mark a couple of weeks ago and feeling good! Full sternotomy for BAV and Aortic root, a little residual pain sometimes when I sneeze or something, but not bad.
I've thought about taking up BJJ but probably a bit late in the game at almost 62.

The one rolling me is Mother Ocean... The good news is I've been training with her for 48 years and can usually read her pretty well.

The bad news is, she don't care if you tap.

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That's inspiring! Those are some great photos. You make it look easy, but from a brief period of surfing I'll never forget how physically exhausting even paddling out is. I too occasionally feel mild pain or discomfort from certain positioning which stresses my chest, but it's occurring less as every week goes by.

Motion4663 said:

That's inspiring! Those are some great photos. You make it look easy, but from a brief period of surfing I'll never forget how physically exhausting even paddling out is. I too occasionally feel mild pain or discomfort from certain positioning which stresses my chest, but it's occurring less as every week goes by.

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Some days everything clicks and it's easy, some days are pretty humbling. I've had sessions when it's kinda' big and you watch your buddies get denied and can't make it out, then you time it just right, get in the rip and paddle out with dry hair! Then there's little 3-4' days when I'm gassed by the time I even get outside.
Some days you don't put a foot wrong and never fall... other days you're 10' out of position for every wave that comes, or your timing & balance is just off.

But then you get that one wave that makes it all worth it.

Well, at the 10 month mark I wish I had better news.

For the last few weeks I have been feeling slightly winded while exercising or training. I was told there would be ups and downs, so no big deal, I'll take a few days off and see how I feel. But the same feeling of reduced endurance persisted while exercising. I made an appointment with my cardiologist, who ordered an echo-cardiogram and reported that the valve looks almost identical as to after surgery. I figured maybe I'm getting over a cold. This continues for a few more weeks, so I see my GP. After listening to my symptoms, they ask me to do some jumping jacks and notify them when I'm short of breath. I do, and they say 'keep going, a few more.' As I'm winded and sit down, they listen to my heart and have me hold my breath, etc. I'm then told that there's a possible murmur on the left side, where the Mitral Valve I had repaired would make noise, but the cardiologist should investigate. I'm going in for a stress test in a few weeks to see exactly whats going on but already the symptoms are all too familiar: immediately short of breath when exercising, or at high bpm. My GP already told me that repairs can fail, but to wait and see exactly what's going on with the stress test. And no more exercise for the time being.

I was making such good progress with conditioning and endurance, that there's no doubt in my mind my repair has failed or is compromised in some way. I don't want to jump the gun but am already mentally preparing myself to go back down the road of imaging, consultations and surgery. I will of course listen to the professionals, but the idea of a mechanical valve seems attractive as I hope to continue an athletic lifestyle and the failure rate appears lower.

Thanks for the update and very sorry to hear that there may be a problem with your mitral valve repair. The repairs are a bit of a gambit. Sometimes they last for 20+ years, other times it seems that they fail relatively early.

Hopefully this resolves and you don't need to get another procedure, but it is good that you are mentally preparing for that news.

Best of luck and please keep us posted.

Motion4663 said:

my cardiologist, who ordered an echo-cardiogram and reported that the valve looks almost identical as to after surgery.

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Did they also do an EKG (electrocardiogram/ECG)? Electrical issues in your heart can also lead to fatigue and reduced endurance.

I pray you do well. Remember this is a long game, so stay mentally strong and pace yourself!

3mm said:

Did they also do an EKG (electrocardiogram/ECG)? Electrical issues in your heart can also lead to fatigue and reduced endurance.

I pray you do well. Remember this is a long game, so stay mentally strong and pace yourself!

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No EKG yet, I should get more information after getting the results from the stress test in a few weeks.

Well crud. I sure hope you don't have to do this again. Will be thinking of you.