Search results

In my understand it’s hard to put a ‘timetable’ on it. It can depend on many individualistic factors for growth. To help slow the growth you can; Manage blood pressure (my cardiologist said to keep it below 135-140 systolic ) Get adequate sleep Stress management techniques Avoid heavy (see...

That’s great news! I wouldn’t be concerned about the 3.6 ascending aorta right now either. Depending on your cardiologist they may want you to look more frequently when it’s above 4.0 and depending on your surgeon, the threshold for surgery (where the risk of surgery is less than the risk of...

Totally understand where you are coming from! As a 28M who just had a mechanical valve replacement-- I understand the younger side and modifying what people refer to as "vices." Here's the other thing I wanted to note.. We have so much information and technology available now to monitor and...

Hi! Welcome to the Forum! Great question. From what I educate patients on and from my research, I would echo (no pun intended :)) what your cardiologist says. In general, smoking (cigarettes or marijuana) is not great for heart and lung health. This is especially important if you have any...

Welcome to the forum! For background I am a physical therapist in a hospital on the floor where we treat all pre and post-op cardiothoracic surgery patients. I have seen quite a few TAVR's of all ages ranging from as soon as they get of bedrest to a few days out of surgery. Most are up and...

Thank you for that article! I am actually familiar with the implications for differences in blood pressure between arms. I actually treat a lot of patients on the cardiac floor who have this issue but usually in the setting of peripheral artery disease. I was more just wondering if anyone...

Hi! Didn't include the diastolic because it was unremarkable between the readings and normal. I believe it was both 117/74 and 138/76. I would agree with you there- I notice that a lot too! In this case, it was taken at two different times on both arms with multiple attempts and there was a...

Per the nurse at my Surgeon's office: "Blood pressure differences are often normal. Your CT scan looked great yesterday and no indication for worry over blood pressure differences. Should continue to follow.” Still not sure the 15-25 point difference is normal, but maybe it will resolve over...

Thank you for your response! Do you think the same applies if my LV was normal on my echo prior to my surgery? They didn’t take a postoperative echo (just a CT w/ contrast so I have no comparison for a while until it’s ordered in a few months) but the one taken a month prior to surgery said...

Hi all, 28M currently 6-weeks post mechanical valve replacement (On-X), aortic aneurysm repair and left main coronary unroofing. Uneventful postoperative course, had first day of cardiac rehab today. When manually taking my blood pressure, there was a difference on average of 20-25 systolic...

When my wife gave birth, her Hgb dropped from 11 (slightly anemic) to 6. While my levels dipped slightly after my OHS, they did quickly return to normal. My wife's did not-- they actually sent her home after giving her IV Iron (Venofer) while saying "it will take 2-3 weeks to return to normal...

I’m going to assume you’re USA based— Home health was automatically ordered by the surgeon for me upon discharge however, it’s handled by case management or a social worker in your hospital usually. Has anyone from case management stopped by to talk about discharge plans with you? If not...

Hi! Glad that you are feeling better and sorry to hear about the low INR- it does happen. They probably are going to send you home with a Lovenox injection- that is what I used when my levels were low (see the photo for my trend)-- as you can see it does fluctuate quite a bit. In-fact, I...

Thank you for your response. The clinic I am using is the same office that my cardiologist is in, so he wanted me to use it. There are other INR clinics in the area (in a different health network) that do use Coagucheck machines that I have considered asking if I can switch to- but unsure...

Hi all, I just finished my course of home health INR testing (5.5 weeks post-op) they had previously tested 2x a week. The INR clinic run by my hospital wants me to now get tested every 2-weeks via venipuncture. I cannot get a home monitor and strips provided by insurance for 4-6 months...

Glad to hear the rest of everything is going well! Bummer about the low INR- but don’t worry! My INR was 2.3 upon leaving the hospital. Home health checked it twice a week. It dropped during those readings from 2.3 to 2.1 to 1.7 to 1.4 to 1.8 to 2.3 to 2.7 to 3.4 and now it’s consistent (as of...

Hi! As someone who was an experienced lifter before surgery (and is only ~5 weeks out) can you elaborate a bit more on what happened when things "fell apart?" I feel confident in my ability to work my weight back up eventually (way down the line) but want to avoid any setbacks.

Hi! I cannot fully relate to your specific situation as I had a mini-sternotomy however I do have significant numbness bilaterally on my chest right above my nipple line. From what I know treating post-surgical patients in the hospital as a physical therapist, usually numbness from nerve...

Fantastic news!! The stressful part is over! Now get up, do some walking, do more walking, and let the road to recovery begin! Keep us in the loop :)

Going to add my anecdotal experience on here.. Had my procedure 4-weeks ago, yesterday (27M). Pre-surgery my HR was 65-70 resting and 85-90 with walking. There was 1 day post-op where my HR was my pre-surgery level. Since, I have been running fast. In the hospital for the first 4-5 days my HR...