High Blood Pressure And Pulse After Avr

[Queenie61]

My Aortic Valve Replacement Was 3 Years Ago And I Received Much Info And Support From This Site. Recently, I Thought I Was Superwoman Since My Heart Was Fixed And Went On A 3 Day Backpacking Trip In The Mountains. Big Mistake!!! Without All The Boring Detail I Had To Go See My Cardio After And My Bp Was Sky High. I Hesistated To Go On Bp Medication But Finally Had Another Echo. My Pulse Was 99 During The Echo And He Said My Heart Is Working Too Hard. I Had A Lifetime Of My Heart Working Too Hard So I Decided To Go On The Beta Blocker. It Has Helped The Bp And The Pulse Rate Just Not Where He Wants It To Be Yet. Have Any Of You Experienced High Bp And Pulse Rate After Avr? Is This Normal Or Am I Just Too Stressed Out?

 

[Ross]

I've always had high bp, so I can't point to one specific thing. Did you have this condition preop? If not, I would think it's stress, but honestly, there are so many darn things that can affect it that it's near impossible to say for sure.

 

[Rush20]

My Aortic Valve Replacement Was 3 Years Ago And I Received Much Info And Support From This Site. Recently, I Thought I Was Superwoman Since My Heart Was Fixed And Went On A 3 Day Backpacking Trip In The Mountains. Big Mistake!!! Without All The Boring Detail I Had To Go See My Cardio After And My Bp Was Sky High. I Hesistated To Go On Bp Medication But Finally Had Another Echo. My Pulse Was 99 During The Echo And He Said My Heart Is Working Too Hard. I Had A Lifetime Of My Heart Working Too Hard So I Decided To Go On The Beta Blocker. It Has Helped The Bp And The Pulse Rate Just Not Where He Wants It To Be Yet. Have Any Of You Experienced High Bp And Pulse Rate After Avr? Is This Normal Or Am I Just Too Stressed Out?

I am experiencing similar high BP post op (2 years). My pulse is in line around 60-70 at rest, however my BP has reached as high as 170 over 100. I never had high BP prior to AVR surgery so I am very frustrated with the idea of going on medication. I just met with my new Cardiologist after moving from Chicago to Sarasota and he told me only because I am young (42), will he wait a little while longer before recommending meds to bring it down. I explained I went through a lot the last two years post op, most obviously, moving my family cross country and accepting a new high-energy position with my company. Add a 45 mile commute and I might be pushing it.

I just bought a home BP monitoring kit and although I am physically active, never smoked and enjoy life, I do tend to internalize stress. I plan to drop 10 lbs of "good living" and add some deep breathing exercises first. I would rather try to lower it the natural way than rely on chemicals and drugs. I'm trying to keep my medication limited to vitamins and 5 mg of coumadin each day.