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My experience has been that my resting heart rate increased about 10 bpm. Some differences (my situation vs yours!). Mine is in the mitral position. I have a mechanical valve. I required 2 surgeries. I've had some arrythmias. Similarities: I was 50. Pretty fit. Lifelong endurance...

I had re-do mitral valve replacement surgery about 7 months after repair surgery. My experience was that, at a high or basic level, they were similar experiences. This is despite the details being quite different. For example: the repair was minimally invasive and the replacement opened...

Here's a study with some relevant information on this subject. Interestingly, valve patients were excluded from the study population! What jumped out to me in a quick read is the tremendous variability in healing times. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4333848/ Methods This...

As you might guess, it's pretty varied! Runners tend to think in terms of miles/week. When I was younger I'd run 40-60 miles/week all year round. I might peak at 70 during marathon training (spring/summer). Short days were 5 miles and long runs would reach 20. These days I run 20-30...

Took me a bit to dig out some older data but some might find this interesting. My hypothesis, based solely on my personal experience, has been that decreasing exercise increases my INR. I was put on warfarin years before I had my mechanical valve. When I had a pulmonary embolism (which...

hi @ChristinaColorado. First piece of advice I can offer is to try to scrape yourself off the ceiling (i.e. reduce your level of worrying) and try to ignore all those TV commercials in the U.S. that tend to overemphasize various AFIB drugs! AFIB is serious but you have been through serious...

I've had several cardioversions. It is a pretty routine prodedure for afib and aflutter. Very simply, you are sedated/anesthetized and then a high voltage shock is delivered through two pads (one on the front of your chest and the other on the back). It is very quick . . . the entire...

Simply speaking, the beta blockers will throttle or slow down the heart. They block adrenaline by attaching to the adrenaline receptor sites. So speaking very broadly and generically, I'll suggest that if the exercise in question pushes against a person's max heart rate, he/she will...

Jim: regarding the stress echo, I want to reiterate that it is difficult to capture the effect that I have been pointing out. I took a quick measurement myself this morning because I was thinking of your questions while I went for a 35 min run. Not fast, not slow, just an average run. It was...

Here's an older paper with some testing and analysis on the systole/diastole timing. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpheart.00404.2004 As mentioned, the duration ratio mentioned approaches 1.0 as HR (heart rate) increases. For me personally, when I talk about my own...

QuincyRunner: my experience largely aligns and mirrors yours. nobog: I agree that, when all other parameters are equal, a larger area corresponds to lower velocities. Simple continuity: the volume/time in equals the volume/time out. However, it's pretty rare for all the other parameters...

Here's a blurb from an older Circulation article https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/circulationaha.108.778886 that supports several PPM points made above. The point about age and different aortic vs. mitral impacts resonated with me. Clinical Impact of PPM Several studies have...

This reminded me of some things. In my case, my post-repair stenosis was not a problem . . . except when exercising. In your case, it was a strain that was going to steadily increase for 9 months. Commonality is that the heart has to provide more flow so pressure and/or rate must increase...

As Pellicle notes, there's a lot to this. My 1/2 to 1/3 is a simplification from: - normal MV area is 4-6 sq cm - my personal MV area after MV repair (for mod/severe regurgitation) was 1.2 sq cm (1-1.5 is mod stenosis) -I now have a 29mm St Judes which has a nominal geometric area of 4.4 sq cm...

My experience has some similarities to what you are experiencing. I have a mechanical mitral valve. Lifelong runner. Afib around age 45 (ultimately corrected with an ablation). It took two surgeries about six months apart just before and after my 50th birthday. I turn 60 in a couple of...

A couple clarifying (or perhaps confounding!) points for those of us in the U.S. regarding medical records . . . . - In almost all cases, patients do not actually own their medical records. Legally, I believe it is only New Hampshire that actually spells out that the patient owns the medical...

Hi Jerry. I'm a lifelong endurance runner and have had 2 valve (mitral) surgeries and 2 ablations (technically 3 as an ablation was also done during my first valve surgery. - I routinely recommend older endurance athletes read "The Haywire Heart" by Case, Mandrola, & Zinn. As much as it...

I'll share a quote from the Chapter entitled "Treatment Options For Athlete Arrhythmia" in "The Haywire Heart" by Case/Mandrola/Zinn. "All the commonly prescribed heart-rhythm drugs blunt cardiac performance. Patients and doctors mistakenly call these side effects, but there's nothing side...

Thank you for finding and posting this. I acquired one of those quite inexpensive ex lease units as a backup a while back and having the guide cover is convenient.

I do not meet your criteria either but can share something to think about. I'm almost 60 and have run distance most of my life. I first went on warfarin in my early 40's after a pulmonary embolism. I trained and raced much further and faster than I do now. My very rough estimate is that I...