New member, two weeks out from AVR.

[JosFKirby]

I appreciate having access to this forum. I'm 58 and two weeks out from SAVR with a new tissue valve. Before this surgery, I worked out 5-6 days per week and felt great. In late August, my Echo for Bicuspid stenosis indicated a 1-year follow-up; all seemed good. A bout of COVID in early August appears to have created a pulmonary embolism (no prior history) and a racing heart and an arrhythmia sent me to the ER. Oddly enough, the PE was missed during my early September hospital stay. A cath-lab procedure showed no blockages and an otherwise healthy heart except for the stenotic aortic valve. They sent me home in a life vest and recommended surgery. A week later my GP found the PE and put me on blood thinners. A second opinion confirmed the need for surgery, suggesting that it would be needed sooner or later.

On October 6th, OHS implanted an aortic tissue valve. Aside from some post-op surgery, I was surprised by how smooth the surgery and follow-up have been. Pain is been minimal and I've not been on any narcotics after the 12th.

At home, the recovery has been up and down, with post-surgical AF the biggest challenge. It seems to be getting better, but is really limited what I can do. If I walk up steps or walk a bit too fast, I go into AF. If I rest, it generally subsides within a few minutes. The electrophysiologic indicates AF is 100 percent result of the surgery and the disruption of this electrical center of the heart. I hope it goes away shortly. I'd be curious how common this is for AVR.

Looking forward to joining this group for my journey forward. All the sharing and information available was very helpful as I approached the surgery.

All the best,
Joe

 

[Superman]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on making it to the other side! Sorry that your having rhythm issues. I don’t have much first hand experience with that but others do. I hope that it can get sorted without further intervention. Some have had to go back in for pacemakers, but seem to do very well with them.

 

[Beach77]

Welcome to the forum! I had my first Afib on my 3rd day Post-Op and they continued for the next 4 days although the intensity went way down from the first time. I was put on Amiodarone and metoprolol for 30 days. My week in the hospital, I had them daily but when I went home, I only had a few, by the end of the 30 days, I wasn’t having them. I wore a Holter monitor for 2 weeks a couple of months later and I had no Afibs. Year 1 seemed to be all good without any Afibs.

They are NOT fun! Are you on meds? What does your doctor say about them? Keep a log to be able to share with your doctor.

But this past year (year 2) I have had a few Afibs. I have a Samsung smart watch and when I go into Afib, I’ve been taking an ECG (EKG) with my watch. It gave my doctor good info during my appointment last week, along with my log. I now have an appointment with Cardiac Electrophysiologist doctor in a week. My doctor said to try, if/when I have another afib:

• Hold two fingers over your eyelids with slight pressure
• Drink ice water
• Put a little pressure on your body, like when your’ straining to have a bowel movement

Not sure if these help since I haven’t had any. I usually just rested/slept after mine.

Other members will have more info, I’m pretty new to all this too. I’ll be reading all their answers too! Good luck! I hope they go away quickly for you!

 

[pellicle]

Glad you are on this side.

Take it easy and push yourself gently towards recovery day by day

Best Wishes

 

[Chuck C]

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the other side.

Post surgery afib is very common. Most resolve, but some do not. I had two bouts of afib while in the hospital following my aortic valve surgery. Mine resolved before release from hospital and has not returned.

Hoping that yours resolves soon and that you have a full recovery.

Please keep us posted.

 

[pellicle]

Most resolve, but some do not

some didn't have it, but it comes like lost baggage years later ...

 

[JosFKirby]

Welcome to the forum! I had my first Afib on my 3rd day Post-Op and they continued for the next 4 days although the intensity went way down from the first time. I was put on Amiodarone and metoprolol for 30 days. My week in the hospital, I had them daily but when I went home, I only had a few, by the end of the 30 days, I wasn’t having them. I wore a Holter monitor for 2 weeks a couple of months later and I had no Afibs. Year 1 seemed to be all good without any Afibs.

They are NOT fun! Are you on meds? What does your doctor say about them? Keep a log to be able to share with your doctor.

But this past year (year 2) I have had a few Afibs. I have a Samsung smart watch and when I go into Afib, I’ve been taking an ECG (EKG) with my watch. It gave my doctor good info during my appointment last week, along with my log. I now have an appointment with Cardiac Electrophysiologist doctor in a week. My doctor said to try, if/when I have another afib:

• Hold two fingers over your eyelids with slight pressure
• Drink ice water
• Put a little pressure on your body, like when your’ straining to have a bowel movement

Not sure if these help since I haven’t had any. I usually just rested/slept after mine.

Other members will have more info, I’m pretty new to all this too. I’ll be reading all their answers too! Good luck! I hope they go away quickly for you!

Thank you for sharing. I'm tracking pretty closely, perhaps too closely. A week ago it took 1-2 hours for episodes to subside. This week is just minutes, so perhaps the trend will continue. I'm currently taking Amiodarone and Metoprotol.

 

[erricojj]

Welcome @JosFKirby !

I am 70yo 12 weeks post SAVR with an Inpiris Resilia tissue valve. I didn't have afib previously, but experienced a short episode (<30 min) on day 2 post op. My surgeon reported that 30-40% of SAVR patients get afib, but they are almost always temporary. They put me on Amiodarone and metoprolol for the rest of the hospital stay. No further afibs after the one.

At discharge, they had me continue Amiodarone 200 mg/day and Eliquis 5 mg 2 x day. At about 8 weeks, they cut the Amiodarone to 100 mg/day and continued the Eliquis. This past week, my cardiologist ordered me to discontinue Amiodarone but continue Eliquis for another ~ 2 months. His reasoning is that the Eliquis will protect me in case the afib comes back once the Amiodarone wears off. It has a really long 1/2 life. I may be free of it by Christmas. No additional afibs occurred after the hospital one...so far.

Just wanted to give you some additional data points.

Good luck and may your afibs retreat into the night.

 

[Chuck C]

They put me on Amiodarone and metoprolol

Those are the two I was on after afib as well. It seems that just about everyone is put on a beta blocker, such as metroprolol, after valve surgery. For those of us who were lucky enough to get afib, amiodarone appears to be one of the top choices to treat, to reduce the likelihood of a reoccurence. Like you, I was gradually weaned off of the amiodarone. After several weeks out, I told my cardiologist that I would like to go off of the amiodarone. He had me wear a Zio monitor for 2 weeks, which checks for afib and other irregular beats. Zio came back perfect so I was able to go off the amiodarone. The amiodarone is perhaps needed to mitigate the risks of afib, but it is nasty stuff with very bad long term side effects, and I wanted to get off of it as soon as possible.

Also, for anyone on warfarin, be sure to check your INR frequently when on amiodarone, especially when it is first added and when dosing is changed. It interferes with warfarin clearance and wreaks havoc with your INR.

 

[ValveAdmin]

Welcome to the forum Joe. May you recover fully very soon. Good luck!

 

[Dano64]

I too am 58 and I had my 2nd OHS 2/7/22 to both replace an ascending aortic aneurysm and my homograph aortic valve. I now have an Inspiris Resilia tissue valve. I did not have significant AF, and I feel pretty good now 8 months out. I wish you a speedy recovery and getting past the AF.

 

[Marybeth]

My husband has been on amiodarone for over three years, with literally no side effects. He does see an eye doctor every 6 months. He is on it due to multiple arrhythmia, not just a-fib. I must say it helps a lot. He does have two st. Jude valves, a tricuspid annuloplasty, and a dual pacemaker/debibrillator that was recently installed as he had a single lead pacer prior to this. I think everyone gets very scared of this medication, but frankly he has done aok on it.

 

[Chuck C]

I think everyone gets very scared of this medication, but frankly he has done aok on it.

I'm very glad to hear that he is doing well on amiodarone. My concerns about long term use of amiodarone, and the reason that I was eager to get off of it as quickly as possible, mostly had to do with the published report by the American Cancer Society on the link between amiodarone and cancer for those who are on it long term. See link below. It appears to be very hard on some of the organs in the body and the side effects might not be seen for years. The study found that the link was dose dependent, with higher cancer risk associated with higher dosage.

"In postmarketing surveillance, the US Food and Drug Administration has reported the development of lung masses, thyroid cancer, and skin cancer after amiodarone therapy."

"Conclusions: The results of the current study indicate that amiodarone may be associated with an increased risk of incident cancer, especially in males, with a dose-dependent effect."

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23568847/