Dizzy spells

[Tom Harrison]

I am a year post op. In that time I have had three instances of dizzy spells. The world turns and I feel slightly nausous but it passes quickly. I can't see any pattern to them and am not sure if I should be concerned. Anyone else gone through this??

 

[Nancy]

Hi Tom-

There are so many causes for dizziness, heart problems, inner ear problems, medication problems, TIAs and probably many, many more.

My husband has had many periods of dizziness in his life. It's not something you should let go on any longer without seeing your doctor. You need to have the cause tracked down.

Wishing you the best,

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Once when I had a dizzy spell, I recall a doctor asking me if the world was spinning or if I felt I was spinning. Apparently this is a well known phenomen and they have different causes. It would be a good idea to see your Primary Care Physician.

'AL'

 

[terry40]

Tom

Tom

Yea, I get dizzy spells, mine stem from low B/P or migraines, they do ask you how you feel, there are all different kinds, mine always felt like someone tip the room over not quite spinning but slanted, some cause double vision, and Al's right about the spinning, either you or the room?

I would seek out an answer from your PCP, they are not normal.

Terry40

 

[Tom Harrison]

Thanks for the quick replies, I am going to talk to my doctor. I have wondered if the coumadin might be a factor, or the valve as I don't remember having the problem prior to my surgery. Of course the possibility of a clot is a worry as well.
TOM

 

[Tom Harrison]

Al, in another post you mention having TIA's, what were the symptoms???

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Al, in another post you mention having TIA's, what were the symptoms??? - Tom

Tom,

One day I found myself sitting on the couch, away from my computer, holding the cordless phone which sits on my computer, when a knock on the door got my attention. The 911 operator was on the other end of the phone and an EMT was at the door.

I had NO recollection of calling 911. Later, after going to the ER, I called back and talked with the operator who took my call. She said I kept repeating that I thought I was having a stroke and asking her to stay on the line. I had NO recollection of any of any of that conversation until the knock on the door brought me around. The TV was on and from the program material, I estimate I 'lost' something between 30 and 60 minutes where I had ZERO recollection. This was a one time event, a few weeks after surgery.

I've also had some strange eye effects. The most troubling was an inability to focus my eyes together. Each eye would focus individually if I covered one eye at a time, but I could not bring them together for a short period, perhaps 1 to 3 minutes.

I've also had (and continue to have) 'floaters' in my eye(s), where I see luminescent lines (several straight line segments connected at the ends), that may last for several minutes. These had pretty much gone away, but I did have one recently.

I keep my INR on the low side (2.5 or so) and wonder if a little higher INR might prevent these events. OTOH, I'm cleaning up a LOT of tree branches from my woods and get a lot of scratches and bruises tossing limbs around. These bruises are no worse than I recall from before being on Coumadin and the scratches stop bleeding fairly quickly so as far as I'm concerned, Coumadin is not causing me any problems other than using a Bow Saw instead of Chain Saw at my doctor's and Coumadin Nurses behest(sp?).

'AL'

 

[Nancy]

Here are some of the TIA symptoms Joe has had:

dizziness
blindness in one eye
blindness in both eyes
stabbing pain in his head
speaking unintelligible words
not understanding what has been spoken
forgetting how to wind up the garden hose
falling out of bed

He's had about 16 of them, all told, none recently. They stopped since he had his mitral repair. I hope they never return. They last about 5 minutes, and leave no remnants for the ER to pick up. A neurologist was able to tell us by the symptoms, just what area of the brain the small clots passed through.

Many people on this board have had them.

 

[Tom Harrison]

Thanks again for the info!! With the last dizzy spell I have had some minor loss of sensation in my left hand. I had the same loss of sensation in the arm post surgery but it seemed to have resolved. Not sure if the two things are related or not and wondered if a small TIA might have caused them both.

 

[Larry Rogers]

Hi Tom,

I had mitral valve repair surgery June of 2001. I had continuing periods of dizziness with numbness in my mouth after the surgery that I had not experienced prior to the surgery. My cardio and PCP could not tell me the cause, but felt that the dizziness and numbness would decrease over time. So far, they have been correct.

The numbness went away first, after about 3 months.

For the first 2 to 3 months the dizziness occured about once a week. The next few months, about every 3 weeks or so. Now, after about two years, I will go a couple of months before I have one, and they much milder, only lasting about 2 to 3 minutes.

After consulting the doctors I did a little research into migraine associated vertigo. Since I had experienced scintillating scotoma prior to surgery, I thought that the tramua of surgery may have induced migraine associated vertigo. The web site for MAV is:www.emedicine.com/NEURD/topic218.htm.

 

[ShanaleT]

Me, too!

Me, too!

Tom,

Like you, I had similiar dizzy spells after my aortic valve replacement. My surgery was in 12/01 and after being off of the beta blocker for the surgery itself, I did not go back on them. I started having extreme migraines about 1 1/2 months post op. I have never had problems with headaches, so I was not not sure what to think. After checking my BP a few times, the doctor decided that I needed to go back on the beta blocker. That is when they started. I had 2 different trips to the er and numerous to the cardio dr, but no one would give a definate reason as to why. I was get severly dizzy and very sick to my stomach and they would last for 10 to 15 minutes with a severe headache afterwards. Finally, after speaking with my reg dr, we decided that I should try it without the BB. After a few weeks of the headaches returning, I am finally back to semi normal. I do have more headaches than I have ever had since I had my surgery, but these are nothing compared to the ones I was getting in the beginning. I wish you luck and hope that you can get something worked out. We did find that everytime they dizzy spells happened, my heartrate and BP were extremely low. At times, the heart rate would be below 50.

Take care,
Shana

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Tom,

If no one can come up with an explanation, you may want to ask for a referal to a Neurologist. They are pretty good at tracking these sorts of symptoms down.

'AL'

 

[J.B.]

Tom, I will have had my Mitral Valve three years in October. I experience dizziness ocassionaly. Also my left eye goes dark at times. At first it concerned me and I still do not enjoy it. But as far as I can tell, so far it has caused no serious problems.

 

[Tom Harrison]

Just a quick reply to Shana, I was half listening to an "ask the doctor " type of program on the radio while driving the other night and some one called in who had a problem with low blood pressure and discribed the symptoms as dizzyness with nausia. The doctor said they often treated low blood pressure by increasing the person's salt intake. Since my "cardiac incident" I have avoided salt. Intend to check with my doctor but am wondering if the is a corralation

 

[JenniferO]

Ever since my mitral valve surgery in February 2002, I have had "dizzy spells." They occur maybe once every 2-3 days and last perhaps 2 minutes, but during those two minutes I am face-down-on-the-ground dizzy. This is especially scary if you are behind the wheel of a car, since there is no warning.

My cardiologists did numerous tests and more recently I saw a neurologist. No one has been able to find a cause.

So, I just continue to live with it. . . .

I also have ongoing "ocular migraine" symptoms which occur numerous times a day but are at least short-lived -- usually less than 30 minutes. Ibuprofen generally helps.

 

[Nancy]

Hi Jennifer-

I'm hoping your cardiologist has done this, but just in case it hasn't been done, have you been hooked up with an event monitor for a few weeks to see what is happening with your heart while these spells occur?

Joe had many dizzy spells which caused him to lose balance, and eventually he had three fainting episodes during which I could not detect a pulse. It turned out that he was having periods of bradycardia. He has chronic afib, so also has irregular and rapid heartbeats. Both of these things caused a very unstable condition for him. He now has a pacemaker. He doesn't need it much, but when he does, it's there to keep him safe. He has had no more periods of dizziness or fainting. He still has afib, and for him, it will probably always be there (his conditions are too advanced to "zap" him or do any other things to get rid of it), but that is a livable condition for him. The bradycardia was dangerous.

It may or may not be what you have, but it's a good thing to check out.

Arrhythmias can and do happen to valve people.

Take care,

 

[JenniferO]

Thanks Nancy for the concern. Yes, I have had several event monitor and Holter monitor studies.

At first, the Holter monitors seemed to tie the dizzy spells to PACs and PVCs which I apparently still have quite often.

However, after switching cardiologists (due to a change in my insurance network), another month-long event monitor study showed absolutely NO correlations to the PVCs or PACs or any other irregularity of my heart. So, that's when I was referred to the neurologist.

The neurologist didn't feel that the episodes were indicative of TIA activity and thus never ordered an MRI. Instead he focused on wanting to do a lot of tests that my insurance mostly wouldn't go along with and would have cost me a fortune. He was rather strange and esoteric. Therefore, it remains a mystery and I just pray it's not TIA.

One of these days when I get the energy to do it, I'll go see my general practitioner and see if he thinks I should have an MRI.
Sometimes I just have to have a vacation from doctors (although I'm seeing an awful lot of my chiropractor for continuing problems with my back which never fully abated after the heart surgery).

I find J.B.'s comment above interesting, as my left eye also often "goes dark" or fails to focus during these episodes.

The migraine associated vertigo may also be a clue. By the way, that link is http://www.emedicine.com/ent/topic727.htm

 

[ccrawford]

Tom - nobody else has mentioned it, so I will. Dehydration can cause some serious dizzies, but they go away fast once you drink a lot of water. Message to JB - If you are having episodes of temporary blindness, first, check your INR. Second, make sure your cardio knows about it. These are usually caused by micro-embolysms and this can be dangerous.

 

[Swill]

INR?

INR?

Don't seem to recall if you said what your INR was. I was having several spells like that before I was admitted to the hospital with a very low INR. They said I was probably having TIAs...

Hope you're feeling better soon. That's a scary feeling...

Will

 

[Tom Harrison]

I'm not sure if there is a correlation with my INR levels. I have been watching for that but it is hard to be sure. The dehydration idea is a good one to watch as well.
Thanks for the ideas.
TOM