Anya
Active member
Its been interesting and terrifying.
I ended up having 2 leaking valves repaired, a hole in my heart fixed and an attempt to regulate my AFib by using the Maze procedure. The latter has unfortunately been unsuccessful and I still have AFib. My cardiologist has me on 200 mg/day Metoprolol in an attempt to bring my heart rate down to normal levels. When I was taking readings post-op it ranged from normal to 161 resting rate. What's scaring me currently is that previously I never even knew I had AFib, never felt it at all, ever. Now in the past few days I have started to sense what feels like a buzzing in my heart which I presume is "fluttering". I was wearing a 24 hr Holter monitor earlier this week and am awaiting the results, hoping that if there's anything amiss, I will get a call from the Cardio's office. I go for walks daily but to be honest, not as far as I probably should be walking at this stage. Problem is I get dizzy and breathing is very difficult. Not sure if the dizziness/breathing problems are a side effect of the 200 mg/day Metoprolol, or if its normal 6 weeks out.
On the positive side of things, both valves have been repaired and leakage has been downgraded from "Severe" to "Slight" and as for the hole in my heart - never knew I had one! All in all, my heart is stronger than it was and hopefully it can withstand the "fluttering". My Cardiologist has recommended that I ignore the checks on heart beat, BP and just live my life being guided by how I feel on any given day, rather than being a slave to "numbers". I suppose it makes sense, but I still can't help being concerned about the dizziness, shallow breathing and the AFib.
I ended up having 2 leaking valves repaired, a hole in my heart fixed and an attempt to regulate my AFib by using the Maze procedure. The latter has unfortunately been unsuccessful and I still have AFib. My cardiologist has me on 200 mg/day Metoprolol in an attempt to bring my heart rate down to normal levels. When I was taking readings post-op it ranged from normal to 161 resting rate. What's scaring me currently is that previously I never even knew I had AFib, never felt it at all, ever. Now in the past few days I have started to sense what feels like a buzzing in my heart which I presume is "fluttering". I was wearing a 24 hr Holter monitor earlier this week and am awaiting the results, hoping that if there's anything amiss, I will get a call from the Cardio's office. I go for walks daily but to be honest, not as far as I probably should be walking at this stage. Problem is I get dizzy and breathing is very difficult. Not sure if the dizziness/breathing problems are a side effect of the 200 mg/day Metoprolol, or if its normal 6 weeks out.
On the positive side of things, both valves have been repaired and leakage has been downgraded from "Severe" to "Slight" and as for the hole in my heart - never knew I had one! All in all, my heart is stronger than it was and hopefully it can withstand the "fluttering". My Cardiologist has recommended that I ignore the checks on heart beat, BP and just live my life being guided by how I feel on any given day, rather than being a slave to "numbers". I suppose it makes sense, but I still can't help being concerned about the dizziness, shallow breathing and the AFib.
