mwd100
Member
Hello Everyone,
This is my first post, so I will give you my whole story. I'll try not to make it too long.
In November 2012, I was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis. My only symptom was a little shortness of breath, which I attributed to being 66 years old. I had been going to the gym regularly for a year, am only 5 or 10 lb. overweight, and I thought I was in pretty good health. On February 25, 2013, I underwent aortic valve replacement surgery. I chose a tissue valve over a mechanical valve to avoid having to take a blood thinner for the rest of my life.
I had a few complications during and after surgery. Upon awakening in the cardio IC unit after surgery, I found that my left arm was weak and I could not move my two little fingers on my left hand. I had also lost my peripheral vision on my right side and I was having problems thinking and remembering. I was evaluated by a neurologist who asked me to do simple functions such as tell her my address or my phone number, or read a simple phrase, or identify pictures of simple things such as a carrot or a table. Most of these tasks I was unable to do. I felt terrible and was still very out of it at this time and do not remember events very clearly. Mostly I remember the anguished look on the faces of my wife and sister who were in the room at the time. I was given a CAT scan, which confirmed that I had had an Ischemic stroke.
The next thing I remembered was waking up the next morning in a regular hospital room. I realized fairly quickly that my vision was back to normal and my left arm and hand were much better. After speaking with the on-duty nurse, I realized my thinking and memory seemed to be OK. Was I ever relieved! By the time my wife arrived that afternoon I was feeling much much better.
Over the next few days, I was recovering normally with the usual pain and discomfort that follows heart surgery. On day 6, I was released from the hospital. The only remaining stroke symptom I had was a very slightly impaired movement of the two little fingers on my left hand. Since then, I have learned that this is probably not due to a stroke but is the result of a pinched Ulnar nerve which can happed during surgery. It will probably return to normal by itself, but may take several months.
After a few days at home, I started feeling really good. On day 10 after surgery, I was up and down the stairs several times, did some work around the house, and did quite a bit of walking. By mid-afternoon, I did not feel very well. I noticed my pulse was rapid and irregular and when I stood up, I would get very dizzy. Around midnight I asked my wife to take me to the ER room at Kaiser Hospital.
I was in atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response (heart rate between 140 and 160 bpm). I lay on a gurney all night and most of the next morning with an IV in my arm, an oxygen monitor on my finger, a BP cuff on my arm that would automatically take my BP every half hour, and constant beeping from the machine next to me. It was not fun. I was given several drugs (Digoxin, Metoprolol, and Amiodarone) both by IV and orally. The drugs did not have the desired effect and the on-call cardiologist (this was a weekend) was reluctant to cardio convert me since I was not on anti-coagulation medication and he did not know how long I had been in a-fib. I was admitted to the hospital, given a room, and the next night I was finally able to sleep a little. Sometime during the night, after about 30 hours in ER and hospital, I auto-converted back to sinus (normal) rhythm. I was sent home with a prescription for Matoprolol and Warfarin. I wanted to talk this over with my cardiologist but he was out of town for a week.
About a week went by without any problems. Then, just when I thought my bout with a-fib was a one-time event, I went into a-fib again after overexerting myself again. It was back to the ER. The next morning, at the hospital, I auto-converted back to sinus rhythm again. The on-call cardiologist prescribed Amiodarone this time instead of Metoprolol and sent me home. After reading about the side effects of Amiodarone, I decided I did not want to take this drug. I emailed my cardiologist the next day and he called me within an hour. He took me off Amiodarone and put me back on Metoprolol along with Warfarin. He also stressed the importance of not over exerting myself and keeping well hydrated the first weeks after surgery. I recalled that I had not been drinking much water the days I went into a-fib. I drink lots of water now and have joined the cardio rehab program. I will pace my rehab slowly. After all, what's the rush?
Monday it will be 8 weeks since surgery. I have had no more bouts with a-fib, I have no stroke symptoms and my finger movement is almost back to normal. I feel very good and the chest discomfort is fast fading away. I feel so grateful to God and my family and the many doctors, nurses, technicians and staff at Kaiser Permanente for all they have done for me. In posting this account I hope that others who have complications such as I have had can take heart and not worry too much. The body is remarkable in its ability to heal itself. Good luck to all of you.
This is my first post, so I will give you my whole story. I'll try not to make it too long.
In November 2012, I was diagnosed with severe aortic stenosis. My only symptom was a little shortness of breath, which I attributed to being 66 years old. I had been going to the gym regularly for a year, am only 5 or 10 lb. overweight, and I thought I was in pretty good health. On February 25, 2013, I underwent aortic valve replacement surgery. I chose a tissue valve over a mechanical valve to avoid having to take a blood thinner for the rest of my life.
I had a few complications during and after surgery. Upon awakening in the cardio IC unit after surgery, I found that my left arm was weak and I could not move my two little fingers on my left hand. I had also lost my peripheral vision on my right side and I was having problems thinking and remembering. I was evaluated by a neurologist who asked me to do simple functions such as tell her my address or my phone number, or read a simple phrase, or identify pictures of simple things such as a carrot or a table. Most of these tasks I was unable to do. I felt terrible and was still very out of it at this time and do not remember events very clearly. Mostly I remember the anguished look on the faces of my wife and sister who were in the room at the time. I was given a CAT scan, which confirmed that I had had an Ischemic stroke.
The next thing I remembered was waking up the next morning in a regular hospital room. I realized fairly quickly that my vision was back to normal and my left arm and hand were much better. After speaking with the on-duty nurse, I realized my thinking and memory seemed to be OK. Was I ever relieved! By the time my wife arrived that afternoon I was feeling much much better.
Over the next few days, I was recovering normally with the usual pain and discomfort that follows heart surgery. On day 6, I was released from the hospital. The only remaining stroke symptom I had was a very slightly impaired movement of the two little fingers on my left hand. Since then, I have learned that this is probably not due to a stroke but is the result of a pinched Ulnar nerve which can happed during surgery. It will probably return to normal by itself, but may take several months.
After a few days at home, I started feeling really good. On day 10 after surgery, I was up and down the stairs several times, did some work around the house, and did quite a bit of walking. By mid-afternoon, I did not feel very well. I noticed my pulse was rapid and irregular and when I stood up, I would get very dizzy. Around midnight I asked my wife to take me to the ER room at Kaiser Hospital.
I was in atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response (heart rate between 140 and 160 bpm). I lay on a gurney all night and most of the next morning with an IV in my arm, an oxygen monitor on my finger, a BP cuff on my arm that would automatically take my BP every half hour, and constant beeping from the machine next to me. It was not fun. I was given several drugs (Digoxin, Metoprolol, and Amiodarone) both by IV and orally. The drugs did not have the desired effect and the on-call cardiologist (this was a weekend) was reluctant to cardio convert me since I was not on anti-coagulation medication and he did not know how long I had been in a-fib. I was admitted to the hospital, given a room, and the next night I was finally able to sleep a little. Sometime during the night, after about 30 hours in ER and hospital, I auto-converted back to sinus (normal) rhythm. I was sent home with a prescription for Matoprolol and Warfarin. I wanted to talk this over with my cardiologist but he was out of town for a week.
About a week went by without any problems. Then, just when I thought my bout with a-fib was a one-time event, I went into a-fib again after overexerting myself again. It was back to the ER. The next morning, at the hospital, I auto-converted back to sinus rhythm again. The on-call cardiologist prescribed Amiodarone this time instead of Metoprolol and sent me home. After reading about the side effects of Amiodarone, I decided I did not want to take this drug. I emailed my cardiologist the next day and he called me within an hour. He took me off Amiodarone and put me back on Metoprolol along with Warfarin. He also stressed the importance of not over exerting myself and keeping well hydrated the first weeks after surgery. I recalled that I had not been drinking much water the days I went into a-fib. I drink lots of water now and have joined the cardio rehab program. I will pace my rehab slowly. After all, what's the rush?
Monday it will be 8 weeks since surgery. I have had no more bouts with a-fib, I have no stroke symptoms and my finger movement is almost back to normal. I feel very good and the chest discomfort is fast fading away. I feel so grateful to God and my family and the many doctors, nurses, technicians and staff at Kaiser Permanente for all they have done for me. In posting this account I hope that others who have complications such as I have had can take heart and not worry too much. The body is remarkable in its ability to heal itself. Good luck to all of you.
