Mitral Valve Repair

Asghar · Nov 4, 2024

Hi All!
I am a 44-year-old male. First of all, please excuse any mistakes in my English; I just want to share my story.

In March 2024, I underwent mitral valve repair and left atrium (LA) reduction surgery. After the surgery, my ejection fraction (EF) was 45%, and I had a dilated left ventricle (LV) with septal hypertrophy. Fortunately, after remodeling, my EF improved to 65%, and the dilation and septal hypertrophy have resolved.

Two months after surgery, I experienced atrial fibrillation (AFib). A 24-hour Holter monitor recorded a minimum heart rate of 73 bpm and a maximum of 144 bpm.

My current medications are:

Ramipril 1.25 mg once daily
Loprin/Asprin 75 mg once daily
Metoprolol 25 mg twice daily
Warfarin 5 mg once daily

Since starting Metoprolol, my resting heart rate hasn’t gone above 87 bpm. However, in the evenings around 7:00 PM, I often feel unwell, and my heart rate drops to the low 60s, sometimes reaching as low as 58 bpm.

3mm · Nov 4, 2024

Hello, Asghar - Your English is excellent! I am glad you are doing well overall.

Do you take Metoprolol Tartrate or Metoprolol Succinate? What time of the day do you take it?

Metoprolol Tartrate is an immediate release drug whose effects last for 6 to 12 hours.

Metoprolol Succinate is an extended release drug whose effects last for about 24 hours.

I suggest you track the time at which you take your Metoprolol and the time when you feel unwell, and then talk with your cardiologist about this. Perhaps you need to adjust your Metoprolol dose?

tjay · Nov 4, 2024

Asghar said:
I am a 44-year-old male. First of all, please excuse any mistakes in my English; I just want to share my story.

In March 2024, I underwent mitral valve repair and left atrium (LA) reduction surgery. After the surgery, my ejection fraction (EF) was 45%, and I had a dilated left ventricle (LV) with septal hypertrophy. Fortunately, after remodeling, my EF improved to 65%, and the dilation and septal hypertrophy have resolved.

Two months after surgery, I experienced atrial fibrillation (AFib). A 24-hour Holter monitor recorded a minimum heart rate of 73 bpm and a maximum of 144 bpm.

My current medications are:

Ramipril 1.25 mg once daily

Loprin/Asprin 75 mg once daily

Metoprolol 25 mg twice daily

Warfarin 5 mg once daily

Since starting Metoprolol, my resting heart rate hasn’t gone above 87 bpm. However, in the evenings around 7:00 PM, I often feel unwell, and my heart rate drops to the low 60s, sometimes reaching as low as 58 bpm.

Looks like you're doing much better since surgery, your EF is much better and hypertrophy is resolved. So what's the issue? You feeling a bit unwell (shortness of breath, lethargic/lack of energy etc) around the same time every evening may have to do with the timing when certain drug(s) (e.g. beta blocker) are taken, and/or its dosage. I'm sure talking to your cardiologist will help resolve that.

Then AFib isn't uncommon after the surgery, but then again please discuss with your cardiologist. Feel free to post using a fresh thread on this forum for wider reach so that others may be able to provide their feedback on any specific questions you may have.

Your English is great

...

Asghar · Nov 4, 2024

3mm said:
Hello, Asghar - Your English is excellent! I am glad you are doing well overall.

Thank you 3mm.

3mm said:
Do you take Metoprolol Tartrate or Metoprolol Succinate? What time of the day do you take it?

Sorry i didn't mentioned that it's Metoprolol tartrate

3mm said:
I suggest you track the time at which you take your Metoprolol and the time when you feel unwell, and then talk with your cardiologist about this. Perhaps you need to adjust your Metoprolol dose?

I take it 7:00 AM in the morning and 6:00 PM in the evening. Yeh I am scheduled to meet with my electrophysiologist next week to discuss this.
.

pellicle · Nov 5, 2024

Asghar said:
I take it 7:00 AM in the morning and 6:00 PM in the evening.

I vary mine a bit (its not a clock) and fit it in with my personal routine. I like to do some weights in the morning and know that by just taking it near the end of my session it'll start to kick in as my HR should be settling back down (but may not). This way I can train and keep my (self aware) pace.

If I feel my HR is going too high (for my personal comfort) and not recovering appropriately in breaks then I'll pop it earlier and "tone it down a bit"

I'm also on Tartrate.

Best Wishes

Asghar · Nov 11, 2024

pellicle said:
I vary mine a bit (its not a clock) and fit it in with my personal routine. I like to do some weights in the morning and know that by just taking it near the end of my session it'll start to kick in as my HR should be settling back down (but may not). This way I can train and keep my (self aware) pace.

If I feel my HR is going too high (for my personal comfort) and not recovering appropriately in breaks then I'll pop it earlier and "tone it down a bit"

I'm also on Tartrate.

Best Wishes

Thanks for sharing your approach! I like the idea of timing it around your heart rate, and best wishes to you as well!

Asghar · Nov 11, 2024

I had a check-up with my electrophysiologist. He thinks it's quite normal to feel this way after mitral valve repair. It will take time to resolve—it's already been 8 months, and I’m not sure how many more months it might take. Fingers crossed!

Asghar said:
Ramipril 1.25 mg once daily

Loprin/Asprin 75 mg once daily

Metoprolol 25 mg twice daily

Warfarin 5 mg once daily

In addition to above he also prescribed Aldactone (Spironolactone) 25mg.

BP was 120/80. I also did a INR, lipid profile and uric acid test with the following results:

INR: 1.8
Total Cholesterol: 194
Serum Triglyceride: 142
HDL-Cholesterol: 45
LDL-Cholesterol: 110
Uric Acid: 5.4

Hoping these numbers keep heading in the right direction!

Edit:

The following graph shows the minimum and maximum resting heart rates throughout the day over the past three months.

pellicle · Nov 12, 2024

Hi

Asghar said:
INR: 1.8

I'm not sure what they've set for you nor do I know what guidelines are for mitral repairs, however that's got to be better than 1 if you have any history of thrombosis

Asghar said:
The following graph shows the minimum and maximum resting heart rates throughout the day over the past three months.

looks good to me steady as she goes I'd say

Asghar · Nov 12, 2024

My INR was set to 2 for six months after surgery with an annuloplasty ring, but they kept me on warfarin due to AFib. Because of this, I still try to keep my INR close to 2, although it has crossed 2 a few times.

dornole · Nov 12, 2024

Isn’t the range for afib usually more like 2.0 to 3.0? What is the range they gave you for afib specifically ?

Asghar · Nov 12, 2024

They mostly recommend keeping it around 2.0, but during this entire period, it was observed as low as 1.3 and at a maximum of 2.8

pellicle · Nov 13, 2024

Asghar said:
They mostly recommend keeping it around 2.0, but during this entire period, it was observed as low as 1.3 and at a maximum of 2.8

warfarin or acitrom?

Asghar · Nov 13, 2024

pellicle said:
warfarin or acitrom?

It's warfarin.

pellicle · Nov 13, 2024

Asghar said:
It's warfarin.

in that case what I was going to suggest won't be the case ;-)

Asghar · Nov 20, 2024

For the past few days, I have been experiencing light-headedness, particularly during prolonged sitting or while using my cellphone. The doctor advised me to drink plenty of water and to perform a standing exercise for 30 minutes daily without moving my legs during the exercise.

I understand that staying hydrated helps prevent dehydration, but I’m curious about the purpose of the exercise.

3mm · Nov 20, 2024

Asghar said:
perform a standing exercise for 30 minutes daily without moving my legs during the exercise.

I understand that staying hydrated helps prevent dehydration, but I’m curious about the purpose of the exercise.

Standing without moving your legs forces your body to balance using small muscles in your legs and body core. It trains the muscles used for balancing. I suggest performing this exercise with your core muscles connected and your knees slightly bent. Knees should be kept slightly bent so blood can circulate. I visualize keeping the core muscles in my lower body connected by imagining I am holding a small coin between my butt cheeks. If you are feeling unstable, consider doing this exercise in a doorway so you can reach out to the door frame if you become unstable.

Wiggle your toes a bit to help with the circulation while standing. I remember this well from performing Honor Guard duties at many funerals! Honor Guards often limit a person's shift to 15 minutes because guards get tired.

Try this when you are standing! Don Knotts video:

V__ · Nov 20, 2024

Asghar said:
For the past few days, I have been experiencing light-headedness, particularly during prolonged sitting or while using my cellphone. The doctor advised me to drink plenty of water and to perform a standing exercise for 30 minutes daily without moving my legs during the exercise.

I understand that staying hydrated helps prevent dehydration, but I’m curious about the purpose of the exercise.

The doctor would know better what they meant

In principle, it could be a way to raise the blood pressure. Although other physical exercises should do it too. Did you have low blood pressure?

If the doctor specified any other exercise features or names ("pole standing"?) that may help as well.

Gail in Ca · Nov 20, 2024

Chronic a-fib caused my cardiologist to raise my INR range from 2-3 to 2.5-3.5.

Asghar · Nov 21, 2024

@3mm Thank you very much! This is a great explanation. I will start using this method from now on.

Asghar · Nov 21, 2024

V__ said:
Did you have low blood pressure?

Not really. Here are the figures from the last few days.

Mitral Valve Repair

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