Migraine triggered by heart rate with exercise

[Paleowoman]

Hi Pellicle - millions of people get migraines yes, millions of people get memory problems, millions of people get hoarseness. It's when an issue such as one of those comes immediately following heart surgery tsome of us are discussing, not migraines per se due to other causes.

Why do you think so many of us developed visual problems imediately following heart surgery ? It would be great if some of us could come up with good reasons for it to happen. Is it some debris in the heart lung machine ? Is it some brain damage that happens during surgery due to the heart lung machine ? I can only guess like the rest of us which is what I'm trying to do here.

 

[pellicle]

Why do you think so many of us developed visual problems imediately following heart surgery ?

I don't know ... and they are more transient disturbances than visual problems.

I'm inclined towards the view that its related to postural issues. There is little doubt that your back and neck are put into abnormal positions during surgery. Myself I've found by accident (no pun intented) that my migraines are relieved substantially by visits to my chiro. When I've been doing every 2 months I just don't get them. When I'm also not doing my desk job and doing a lot of nordic pole walking (or XC skiing in the winter) I just don't get them.

Thus its hard for me to accept that its the pump which causes them. If it was the pump then it would only be people on the pump or at the very least a majority of people on the pump who got migraines.

The short answer is I don't know - and nothing I read fully fits the facts.

I'm very cautious about moving from probably to certainly - which I believe to be good scientific practice.

 

[Paleowoman]

I don't know ... and they are more transient disturbances than visual problems..

I don't think they are transient disturbances, well not judging from the people whose posts I've read here on forum and judging from what I experience. The sparkles of light crossing my vision occur every day, the migraine auras without headache (I think they are called "occular migraines" - that is zig-zagging pattterns of light which start in the centre of vision and spread outwards over a 15 to 20 min time period) and the episodes of double vision lasting a couple of minutes, occur every one to two weeks. It's two years four months now since I surgery. Definitley visual problems.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

I don't think they are transient disturbances, ...- that is zig-zagging pattterns of light which start in the centre of vision and spread outwards over a 15 to 20 min time period) and the episodes of double vision lasting a couple of minutes, occur every one to two weeks. It's two years four months now since I surgery. Definitley visual problems.

as I understand transient:

transient
ˈtranzɪənt/
adjective

• 1.
  lasting only for a short time; impermanent.
  [COLOR=#878787 !important]"a transient cold spell"[/COLOR]

  synonyms:

  transitory, temporary, short-lived, short-term, ephemeral,impermanent, brief, short, momentary; More

what you have written more or less exactly describes transient. If they were permanent you'd have them all the time ... to me this implies they are transient and recurring.

your description is pretty close to how I would describe mine. However the duration between getting these episodes can be as long as years for me if (as I mentioned above) I exersize well and see a chiro now and then. I would call them visual disturbances as they are not anything that an optometerist or and ophthalmologist can treat (as that's where my parents too me first).

As to the cause: I'm still not sure.

 

[Paleowoman]

The double vision does indeed last only a couple of minutes - but the migraine auras last 20 minutes a time and the sparkles of light pretty constant. Still I do consider this to be neurological which the link I posted regarding neurological problems post heart surgery considers too: vision problems, paralysis, hoarseness, movement disorders and disturbances in learning, memory, attention, concentration and mental agility What is a pity is that we don't have the full report, we just have a report of the report so we don't know why there are these neurological problems post heart surgery.

PS my cardiologist considers the visual problems I get neurological too which is why he offered to refer me to a neurologist.

 

[Patsman07]

I've experienced the same vision problems described here and regularly have sparkles of light crossing my vision. I've taken up cycling since surgery and twice now I've got extremely light headed when doing a hard effort. Today I was going up a steep hill, I don't wear a heart monitor but I'd say I was close/at max heart rate, I suddenly got dizzy&numb on the left side of my face and my vision became impaired. I stopped and recovered very quickly but couldn't help but feel paranoid about it. Has any fellow cyclists experienced this??
​My guess is that its due to the mechanical valve being unable to allow the required amount of blood through quick enough, this briefly causes a lack of oxygen to the brain and results in the symptoms I've described. Be very interested to hear if anyone else has experienced this and if they have discussed it with their cardiologist?

 

[pellicle]

...Today I was going up a steep hill, I don't wear a heart monitor but I'd say I was close/at max heart rate, I suddenly got dizzy&numb on the left side of my face and my vision became impaired. I stopped and recovered very quickly but couldn't help but feel paranoid about it. Has any fellow cyclists experienced this??
​My guess is that its due to the mechanical valve being unable to allow the required amount of blood through quick enough, this briefly causes a lack of oxygen to the brain and results in the symptoms I've described. Be very interested to hear if anyone else has experienced this and if they have discussed it with their cardiologist?

I would wonder if that was a TIA ... what's your AC therapy level like?

having played squash till I couldn't see in my periphery vision due to hypoxia with a tissue valve failing I can't say I've ever experienced anything that fits your guess of blood flow. You'll loose periphery vision due to hypoxia before you feel numbness.

I'd definately discuss it with your cardio and perhaps soon too, so that a d-dimer blood test could still reveal if you've had any clot formation

 

[Patsman07]

My INR has always been in range, I'll contact Doctors about it and post the outcome here.

 

[Patsman07]

Got to the GP today, she was completely confident that it couldn't have been a clot/TIA as the episode was so short and I have been always been in range. She reckons it was just a momentary lack of oxygen to the brain.

​Does anyone else get short bouts of light-headedness while exercising intensively?

 

[pellicle]

Got to the GP today, she was completely confident that it couldn't have been a clot/TIA as the episode was so short and I have been always been in range. She reckons it was just a momentary lack of oxygen to the brain.

glad to hear you're ok ... always good when a diagnosis is made with no evidence. I can actually say I know people who get clots when being "in range" ... it can often be a factor in deciding what YOUR range actually is. D-Dimer tests need to be done quickly to be deterministic.

FWIW

What are the symptoms of a transient ischaemic attack?
Symptoms of a TIA are temporary (transient). They develop suddenly, and usually peak in less than a minute. The duration of symptoms varies, but symptoms usually go within an hour (typically within 2-15 minutes).

so, was it less than 2 min? If yes then I'm inclined to agree with her.

​Does anyone else get short bouts of light-headedness while exercising intensively?

please define "intensive exersize" ... I mean for some here that would be walking up a flight of staris, and others a 20Km run in a competitive marathon. None the less I'm glad to hear you're returning to health post surgery

in your earlier post you mentioned:

Today I was going up a steep hill, I don't wear a heart monitor but I'd say I was close/at max heart rate,

if that was your first time back to such things then it could just be that you were comparing your pre op max to now ... could be a number of factors (including how I understand what it means when you say " I suddenly got dizzy&numb on the left side of my face and my vision became impaired." as we all report things with different words and mean slightly different things when we say the same words...

The important thing however is "if it happens again"

 

[Patsman07]

It only lasted 2 seconds!

By intensive exercise, I suppose, I mean exercising until you are out of breath. For me that's sprinting on the bike or going up steep hills.

I'm almost 2 years post op and have relatively few worries nowadays thankfully! Hardest aspect of the whole area for me was having to give up playing football.

 

[doclewis]

Was just reading posts about migraines after surgery. AVR and ascending aorta replaced ten months ago. Posted here once before. After surgery I was getting ocular migraines daily to every other day. After five or six months saw neurologist. She started me on asa and they actually got much better. Down to maybe one a month or every three weeks. However last couple of months I have been having them again maybe once a week. Now almost always associated with exercise. Not every time, as I have been exercising almost every day. Ride a bike 20 to 30 miles or walk five miles. Also they became more frequent when I went skiing in Feb. Was sleeping at 9000 feet and skiing at higher elevations. I had been warned that atmospheric changes would trigger migraines and that going to mountains would be the same thing. Had ocular migraine daily while at elevation. Now back at sea level but continue to have them but only with exercise.

 

[Paleowoman]

Was just reading posts about migraines after surgery. AVR and ascending aorta replaced ten months ago. Posted here once before. After surgery I was getting ocular migraines daily to every other day. After five or six months saw neurologist. She started me on asa and they actually got much better. Down to maybe one a month or every three weeks..

What is asa ?

 

[zee112]

I found the complete opposite happening to me. Personally the typical visual migraines that would last for an hour, followed by a headache have disappeared since starting on warfarin. I get visual lights for maybe a minute to 5 minutes but they stop.

 

[pellicle]

http://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2016-...ns-links-that-could-improve-treatment/7530202

 

[Protimenow]

It's interesting when you mention aura, sparkling in the eye, temporary 'blindness' and other events that may be secondary to heart surgery. I don't know what causes it, but it's interesting to see that there are many others here who have the same symptoms. I used to get migraines - triggered by bright light - when I was 16. They were accompanied by excruciating pain and, fortunately, these terrible headaches transformed into episodes with the aura.

My auras are often (but certainly not always) triggered by exposure to bright light. If it's a brief glimpse of a bright light (like the kind you can get from a car passing by with windows that seem to reflect and focus sunlight), the auras are more likely to happen.

Sometimes a bit of chocolate or something with caffeine can turn these events off. I've found that, for myself, at least, I get sensitive to too much light. If I stay in a somewhat darkened room, the auras usually go away in a half hour. If I'm not quite as careful about my exposure to bright light, it takes around 30 minutes to resolve.

I'm usually not driving or operating heavy machinery while these happen, but there have been times when I WAS driving, and I did fine using my peripheral vision a bit more than usual - although it's always a better idea to get off the freeway or land your airplane or put away your roller skates until the aura subsides.

These can be a cause for concern. The 'blindness' is definitely scary each time it happens -- tingling and numbness can also be a bit of a concern.

One thought -- I used to take Zyrtec, and it also caused the lip numbness and other events that seemed to be of neurologic origin. I have a friend who had the same symptoms - right after HE took Zyrtec. I wonder if some of this may be attributable to what seems to be a 'benign' substance that is, in fact, a lot less friendly than it may seem.

When I've checked my blood pressure during auras, it doesn't seem to be anything out of the normal range for me.

 

[charlieecho]

So sad to see others suffer but I am very glad I found this thread. I don't know if I would consider mine migraines but I've found a direct correlation with working out and having a terrible headache THE NEXT MORNING. I've told 3 cardiologist and my general doctor (even have had a MRI to rule out anything there) and no one can give me an answer. When I say workout I mean about 45 min of weight lifting usually lifting around 75-85% of my max. I haven't lifted in about 6 months and still get them occasionally and always sporadically. I can't seem to put my finger on what causes them but I do know that lifting weights were causing them at least 75% of the time. Fortunately I have found that Excedrin (the one with acetaminophen not aspirin since I have a mechanical) helps tremendously but I do not like the fact I need to take an over the counter drug every single time I get a headache. Again every time my headaches come upon waking up. Usually they are gone by lunch but I've had them persist throughout the day.
EDIT: always wanted to be clear that I also experience a very distinct headache that is always right behind the sinus/eye area.

 

[AZ Don]

It's interesting that so many have migraine symptoms after open heart surgery. Something else many of us can share. Before and after surgery I would sometimes have severe headaches several hours after exercise, especially if it was hot. I didn't used to think of them as migraines but since the surgery I get the migraine aura at times after exercise and recently had one at a mall. I had no idea why but I saw a post above indicating bright light can cause this - the mall had an atrium and it was extremely bright. So now that my daughter was diagnosed with migraines, ocular and headache I'm thinking mine may be migraines as well - conventional medicine generally does nothing to relieve the pain. I'm lucky in that the migraine aura never leads to the headache - I get one or the other, never both, and the aura only lasts 15 minutes.

In any case, the neurologist that my daughter saw recommended several supplements to her. Of all of them, there seems to be the most evidence behind B2. Studies have shown it can reduce the incidence of migraine by 50%: https://migraine.com/migraine-treatment/natural-remedies/riboflavin-vitamin-b2/
I had more headaches/migraines than normal a couple weeks ago so started taking the B2 and have not had so many since. My daughter started taking the B2 a year or so ago but she stopped soon after ... because she wasn't having so many migraines.

 

[Agian]

I've been getting migraines since I was a teeneger. They still make me anxious.
I don't get the headache, my vision just goes.
I'll certainly look into B2. Did he recommend a dose?

 

[AZ Don]

I'll certainly look into B2. Did he recommend a dose?

2 x 100mg, twice per day. That's 400mg per day, the same as what was used in the study I referenced.