constant pain in chest!

[markp66]

Hi all

as a few of you know I had my aortic valve replaced in October. Everything has gone great so far I had a full check up last week and all look perfect (ish!). For the last month or so I've had a pretty much constant pain in my upper left chest. I spoke to my cardio about this and she was pretty sure it wasn't cardiac related. After an ECG and echo and full examination I'm pretty confident that it isn't. She said lots of muscles/ nerves get damaged when the chest is opened and it is quite normal to have pain/ aching feeling for many months after. Has anyone else experienced this. If anything it seems to disappear when I exercise which is a good sign I guess. Cardiac chest pain normally increases with exercise. It lasts for hours and although it doesn't hurt I can definitely notice it. Any ideas? I'm 27 so I'm pretty sure it isn't anything to worry about..! Everything else is going great. I'm getting fitter, my life is much more organised especially in managing my warfarin with a home monitor, I can barely hear my valve and I don't care too much about my scar so this seems to be my last hurdle before getting back to completely normal.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Phil]

Hi Mark,

I remember chest pain which seemed to go on for months post surgery. Like you I got it checked out, but nothing out of the blue was discovered. I also remember they became less and less overtime. Not sure if this helps ... Glad to hear all else seems to be going well with your recovery.

Cheers.


Phil.

 

[Greg a]

The muscles have been cut and moved about and they take time to heal are you in cardiac rehab if so ask about some things to keep them limber as they heal

 

[Mentu]

Hi, Mark, sorry you are continuing to experience discomfort. I had something similar happen a couple of months after my AVR. Early on, I experienced little discomfort then at around 8 weeks or so my chest became painful. My cardiologist said it was not heart related so I went back to my family doctor who came to the conclusion that it was just part of the healing process. She explained that at times after surgery, the nerves are slower to heal than other tissue. As sensation begins to return to some tissues, the brain must relearn how to interpret the signals. At first it may interpret every signal as pain even thought there is nothing wrong which seems to be what I experienced. Fortunately, after an intense period, the sensation began to taper off until it went away completely. This is not to say you are having the same problem but it is a possibility. I would also suggest that if it does not begin to fade that you make sure your doctors are aware of your continuing issue. Because there is the possibility it is a "phantom" pain that doesn't make it so. If the problem persists, don't let them forget about you.

Larry

 

[markp66]

Thanks for the comments. very useful It's not that it's even that bad but my it just feel slightly odd and makes me aware that I've had the op. I certainly don't need pain meds for it but at the same time it's just an annoyance. When I look at what they do to you during the op I'm not surprised I still have pain. Some people heal quicker than others I guess and as long as it's not cardiac related I can deal with it! Anyway, thanks again for the great comments. I'll give it a few weeks and hopefully it should sort itself out.

 

[Boston Tiger]

It probably took a full year before I could go days without being reminded of what I had gone through. I get aches now mainly when the weather is changing (but I haven't learned how to predict the weather based on that yet). For me, the pain was there for quite a while, but its intensity lessened over time and eventually got to a point where I rarely noticed anything. My main problem now is when I forget about maintaining proper posture and sit hunched over my computer for too long at a time. I definitely feel that in my ribs and sternum.