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Yes! Quoting to emphasize the importance of a pill box. I have a story about overdosing on warfarin two months after my OHS. Not quite ready to tell, but suffice it to say, if I were using a pill box it would have never happened. It scared me enough that I'll be doing a pill box and alarm...

I should add that I'm doing this with the approval of my cardiologists. I don't want anyone to think I'm crazy or to do the same without the blessing from your doc. I was in pretty good condition going into my surgery and have worked my butt off since surgery. I completed thirty sessions of...

What about altitude, say 12,400 feet? That's my heart rate and elevation skiing today!

What? Nobody told me! :D

Happy New Year! I'm bumping my original thread as I've been skiing the last three days and felt great with my new St. Jude mechanical valve. Seven months out from surgery, I'm not quite 100% yet, but getting close. I'll share a few pics. 😀 From the top of Copper Mountain, Colorado: My...

My doc said staying on beta blockers is to protect the unrepaired portion of the aorta. While it's much less likely to develop an aneurysm than the repaired portion, it's still a risk worth mitigating.

Increased mortality is why the increased difficulty of subsequent surgeries matters. A second open heart surgery has a higher risk of death than the first, and the third higher than the second. I've had two open heart surgeries with the same highly qualified surgeon at a top university...

Have a look at this great comparison of the Vivosmart 5 and the Fitbit Charge 5: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/05/vivosmart-ridiculously-comparison.html DC Rainmaker does fantastic reviews. I'd suggest you check out his review and the comments on any device you are considering. I agree...

I'm almost seven months out from surgery, and I found the most basic features were the most important to track: Steps 24/7 heart rate, including resting heart rate Sleep You can do all those with a Garmin Vivosmart 4 or Vivosmart 5. What I like about those devices is they are small enough to...

I'll second the Garmin recommendation. Apple watches don't work with Android (and have terrible battery life). Fitbit is another option that works as well as lower-end Garmin devices for most that don't need serious athlete features. The problem with Fitbit since Google bought them is they...

I had the same experience taking Tylenol (acetaminophen here) after my OHS. I was on the maximum daily dose for pain control for a few weeks. When I stopped, my INR dropped, and I needed to increase my dose of Warfarin. I was told that Tylenol affects the liver's ability to metabolize other...

My INR is up to 2.0 today, so the dose increases seemed to do the trick to counteract the Paxlovid INR decrease. @pellicle, thanks so much for the offer to help. I should be OK and return to my stable INR taking a 10mg daily dose. Taking Paxlovid was the first I've needed to adjust my...

Thanks. I took 14mg today (I took 11mg two days ago) and will resume 10 ms tomorrow and test again in two days. I"m happy to test as frequently as needed. No change to the brand of warfarin. I'm stable with an INR between 2.4 and 2.9 on a 10mg. I haven't needed to adjust the does for...

After testing two days ago, I bumped my dose from 10 to 11, then took my usual 10 mg yesterday. The doc wanted me to test frequently, so I tested again today, 8.5 days post-COVID symptom onset and 4.5 days after starting Paxlovid. My INR is down to 1.8 today. I increased my dose to 12 mg...

My INR is down to 1.9 today. I'm 6.5 days post-COVID symptom onset and 4.5 days after starting Paxlovid, having just taken my last pills. Looks like I'm seeing an INR reduction similar to the study I posted above. My normal warfarin dose is 10mg daily, and my target INR is 2.5. Any...

@Unicusp, I'll bet the strap is correct over both watches, especially if you saw consistent readings throughout the workout. Here are a couple of suggestions for investigating further. This is the electrode gel I use on the chest strap contact patches...

I had a nice, quick conversation with my sports cardiologist. He ordered a maximal exercise test (on the bike) to see how my newly upgraded (six months) heart performs at high heart rates. Until then, I need to stay below 130-140 bpm, a level where he's comfortable my BP won't be a problem...

Even chest straps frequently give spurious readings. Whatever you are using, stop and manually measure your pulse for 15 seconds if your heart rate seems off relative to your perceived exertion. Over time you'll grow to recognize when the readings are wrong. This is from a run the other day...

Thanks for the feedback! I was worried, so I went ahead and tested a little early. Good news, my INR is 2.6. I'll test again in a few days.

I was told the risk is an aneurysm in the unrepaired portion of your aorta from potential high blood pressure at a high heart rate. I have an appointment with a sports cardiologist to discuss how to mitigate that risk while still being able to participate in activities with a high heart rate...