Exercise before surgery?

[fdegranville]

I was wondering if anyone on this forum was put into cadiac rehab before having surgery?

I had a stress echo two weeks ago to evaluate moderate mitral stenosis and moderate aortic regurg. I was on the treadmill for 3.11 minutes and had to stop due to shortness of breathe. My doctor feels that looking at each lesion separately they are not critical, but together they cause the severe symptoms. I am going for a complete evaluation with a pulmonary specialist to evaluate the damage to my lungs. My doctor says there is no other way to help the valves than to replace them, but he does not want to go there just yet. I am tired all the time and have a pretty demanding job, and it is getting more difficult to keep up. He feels that a cardiac rehab program may help me to build up more endurance and feel better (sounds like torture to me). Has anyone ever been advised to do this? If so, did it work?

Thanks for any comments,
fdeg

 

[ALCapshaw]

You are wise to have your lungs checked first.

Have you had a heart catheterization to check for possible Coronary Artery Disease as well?

I would want to know EVERYTHING before entering an exercise program. Sudden death is a distinct possibility with overexertion with Valve disease.

I was faced with a somewhat similar situation where my symptoms were more severe than the condition of my individual valves would seem to warrant. My cardiologist then performed a TEE and concluded he could alleviate my symptoms by adding an ACE inhibitor while reducing my Beta Blocker. I was able to postpone surgery a little over a year before my Aortic Valve deteriorated enough to warrant replacement.

'AL'

 

[fdegranville]

Cath study

Cath study

Thanks Al,
I had a cath 12 years ago and had clean arteries. My cholesterol is 107 and the last stress test showed no indication of CAD. My doctor says if the rehab doesn't help, or I get a diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension from the pulmonary guy, that will be the next step.

Hope you are well,
fdeg