M
msiwik
Hello All:
I am a new member to the site who feels like I have just found all my long lost relatives. This is a terrific resource and I am impressed with the depth and quality of information shared by the members.
I am 41 and a dedicated long distance runner, who underwent AVR at the Cleveland Clinic on May 23, 2005. I had no symptoms until May 10 or so, when I went to see my general physician, thinking I had a strange form of bronchitis. I had seen my training leveling off beginning in March 2005 and tired in a half marathon on May 7, 2005 (still posted a 1:45) but attributed it all to business travel and resp. infection that hadn't completely resolved by the time of the race. I had no idea that I had a heart issue until it was discovered by my general physician in mid-May. I actually went to see him to get some antibiotics, thinking I needed to kick a bug in advance of a race that coming weekend.
My valve was replaced with a bovine, 29 mm. I have recovered well, walking a great deal until my six week checkup at which point I was given my exercise regimen. I was limited to keeping my heart rate between 132 and 156 and I was told to start with a 12 min. pace using a walk run/walk ratio of 3:1. By the end of July, I was able to run 6 to 8 miles with some of the running down to an 11:00 min. pace. Once I built up to 6 miles, I made sure to use one minute walk breaks.
One of the ways I have been coping is to set a personal goal of completing the Clinic's half-marathon on Sept. 11. Over the last two weeks, I have increased the length of the long run from 10 miles and then to 13 miles. If I had to do it all over again, I would have stuck to my one mile a week increase as I seem to have hit a wall now. Fatigue has set in and there is some discomfort with breathing deeply. Fortunately, there is a walking division in the half marathon and the ability to split it with another person. Until this week, I was pretty optimistic that I could do the whole thing at an 11 to 11:30 pace, using a one minute walk break. I have about 3 weeks until the run and I am optimistic that I will be ok provided I don't overdo it between now and then.
The drs. are keeping an eye on me. I have to take a week off running (walking is ok) and REST. I also will undergo a stress echo on Sept. 8, 3 days before the race. I experienced a decrease in my ejection fraction (went from 60 pre-op to below 50 post-op) and they want to make sure everything is ok. I have done some research and located articles that make the point that it is common to have a decrease in the EF post-surgery and that it does improve, particularly with areobic conditioning.
What have I learned so far:
a) For the athletes, you do need to find fellow athletes as there is a dearth of information available on how to tailor your rehab/return to fitness. I am pleased that we have several athletes contributing to this site. I think more needs to be done though - perhaps through the American Heart Association. It would be wonderful if there was some systematic tracking pre and post-operatively of athletes who undergo AVR.
b) Heart rate monitors/heart rate monitoring don't tell the whole story. My RHR is now in the mid-40's. I have no idea what it was before surgery. I also tolerated increases in my endurance and my pace, carefully watching the HR as I ran. Even so, I knocked myself down a peg by going too far too soon even though I thought I was being completely safe. It's not uncommon for long distance runners to increase their long run by two miles each week which is why I bumped from 6 to 8 to 10 to 13 (just went for the extra mile on Sunday) but I went too far. I am curious if anybody else has experienced this. I am definitely not running again until my energy level returns to normal and I lose this sensation of discomfort when I breath deeply.
Ok, have gone on long enough. I look forward to getting to know you all.
Best regards,
Mark,
Cleveland, OH
I am a new member to the site who feels like I have just found all my long lost relatives. This is a terrific resource and I am impressed with the depth and quality of information shared by the members.
I am 41 and a dedicated long distance runner, who underwent AVR at the Cleveland Clinic on May 23, 2005. I had no symptoms until May 10 or so, when I went to see my general physician, thinking I had a strange form of bronchitis. I had seen my training leveling off beginning in March 2005 and tired in a half marathon on May 7, 2005 (still posted a 1:45) but attributed it all to business travel and resp. infection that hadn't completely resolved by the time of the race. I had no idea that I had a heart issue until it was discovered by my general physician in mid-May. I actually went to see him to get some antibiotics, thinking I needed to kick a bug in advance of a race that coming weekend.
My valve was replaced with a bovine, 29 mm. I have recovered well, walking a great deal until my six week checkup at which point I was given my exercise regimen. I was limited to keeping my heart rate between 132 and 156 and I was told to start with a 12 min. pace using a walk run/walk ratio of 3:1. By the end of July, I was able to run 6 to 8 miles with some of the running down to an 11:00 min. pace. Once I built up to 6 miles, I made sure to use one minute walk breaks.
One of the ways I have been coping is to set a personal goal of completing the Clinic's half-marathon on Sept. 11. Over the last two weeks, I have increased the length of the long run from 10 miles and then to 13 miles. If I had to do it all over again, I would have stuck to my one mile a week increase as I seem to have hit a wall now. Fatigue has set in and there is some discomfort with breathing deeply. Fortunately, there is a walking division in the half marathon and the ability to split it with another person. Until this week, I was pretty optimistic that I could do the whole thing at an 11 to 11:30 pace, using a one minute walk break. I have about 3 weeks until the run and I am optimistic that I will be ok provided I don't overdo it between now and then.
The drs. are keeping an eye on me. I have to take a week off running (walking is ok) and REST. I also will undergo a stress echo on Sept. 8, 3 days before the race. I experienced a decrease in my ejection fraction (went from 60 pre-op to below 50 post-op) and they want to make sure everything is ok. I have done some research and located articles that make the point that it is common to have a decrease in the EF post-surgery and that it does improve, particularly with areobic conditioning.
What have I learned so far:
a) For the athletes, you do need to find fellow athletes as there is a dearth of information available on how to tailor your rehab/return to fitness. I am pleased that we have several athletes contributing to this site. I think more needs to be done though - perhaps through the American Heart Association. It would be wonderful if there was some systematic tracking pre and post-operatively of athletes who undergo AVR.
b) Heart rate monitors/heart rate monitoring don't tell the whole story. My RHR is now in the mid-40's. I have no idea what it was before surgery. I also tolerated increases in my endurance and my pace, carefully watching the HR as I ran. Even so, I knocked myself down a peg by going too far too soon even though I thought I was being completely safe. It's not uncommon for long distance runners to increase their long run by two miles each week which is why I bumped from 6 to 8 to 10 to 13 (just went for the extra mile on Sunday) but I went too far. I am curious if anybody else has experienced this. I am definitely not running again until my energy level returns to normal and I lose this sensation of discomfort when I breath deeply.
Ok, have gone on long enough. I look forward to getting to know you all.
Best regards,
Mark,
Cleveland, OH
