Playing football after a valve replacement and warfarin 2 years on

[Tinsley9911]

Hi guys wil here from the uk I know they tell you not to play football but does anyone here still play competitive football I have been playing 6 aside for about 6 months now once a week and nothing bad has happened and was wondering if I could move up to 11 aside does anyone in here play? Even tho your on warfarin and had a valve replacement?

 

[oo0My_Valve0oo]

Curious whether doc actually warned you or where that idea comes from........don't play football?

 

[Emmapenny]

Hi Will

My son is 15 and recently had AVR. He’s not back playing yet but his cardiologist has said he can, hopefully early in the new year. He’ll be 6 months out then.

His anti coagulation team told me he should no longer do anything sport related football, cricket, basketball, ice skating, skiing etc etc……

I’m grateful his cardiologist has an open mind - I’m sure lots of them don’t.

Obviously there are risks but we don’t live in a bubble. We don’t stop him crossing the road or getting in a car , both of which can cause problems if there is an accident. We won’t know how he will feel till he starts playing and maybe he won’t feel comfortable going in for all the challenges he used to but we shall see.

I’ve trawled the internet for any research or useful trials but I’ve never found anything , other than the standard no contact sports.

I can see why they wouldn’t want a professional footballer on blood thinners. But unless you’re planning on putting your body on the line with every move then I personally don’t see the big issue.

I feel like he has more chance of getting smacked in the face by the ball while watching his friends play then actually playing in the game with them.

It’s been an emotive subject in our family as football is his passion and the thought of having to tell him hr couldn’t play was distressing.

I did find another mum who’s son is playing mens football now at a reasonably good level and he has been fine.

Hopefully it will work out ok ok for you.

 

[Superman]

I used to play tackle American football on the playground, no pads. And basketball at the YMCA. I took an elbow to the eye and turned my ankle. All on warfarin. The next day after basketball I drove an hour and a half to my first date with my now wife, and I showed up on crutches. My perseverance won her over.

I’m not saying those were the wisest decisions, but it’s what I was doing back then. Except keeping that date. That turned out pretty awesome. Wise decision that was.

 

[Tinsley9911]

Hi Will

My son is 15 and recently had AVR. He’s not back playing yet but his cardiologist has said he can, hopefully early in the new year. He’ll be 6 months out then.

His anti coagulation team told me he should no longer do anything sport related football, cricket, basketball, ice skating, skiing etc etc……

I’m grateful his cardiologist has an open mind - I’m sure lots of them don’t.

Obviously there are risks but we don’t live in a bubble. We don’t stop him crossing the road or getting in a car , both of which can cause problems if there is an accident. We won’t know how he will feel till he starts playing and maybe he won’t feel comfortable going in for all the challenges he used to but we shall see.

I’ve trawled the internet for any research or useful trials but I’ve never found anything , other than the standard no contact sports.

I can see why they wouldn’t want a professional footballer on blood thinners. But unless you’re planning on putting your body on the line with every move then I personally don’t see the big issue.

I feel like he has more chance of getting smacked in the face by the ball while watching his friends play then actually playing in the game with them.

It’s been an emotive subject in our family as football is his passion and the thought of having to tell him hr couldn’t play was distressing.

I did find another mum who’s son is playing mens football now at a reasonably good level and he has been fine.

Hopefully it will work out ok ok for you.

Thank you for the reply means a lot so that other mums son plays full contact and is absolutely fine?

 

[Tinsley9911]

I used to play tackle American football on the playground, no pads. And basketball at the YMCA. I took an elbow to the eye and turned my ankle. All on warfarin. The next day after basketball I drove an hour and a half to my first date with my now wife, and I showed up on crutches. My perseverance won her over.

I’m not saying those were the wisest decisions, but it’s what I was doing back then. Except keeping that date. That turned out pretty awesome. Wise decision that was.

Hi mate Thanks for the reply so even after being tackled your chest never felt funny or out of place then?

 

[pellicle]

Hi mate Thanks for the reply so even after being tackled your chest never felt funny or out of place then?

I'm curious ... why would you expect that?

I'd assumed you were concerned about IC bleeds exacerbated by INR being higher

 

[oo0My_Valve0oo]

My cardiologists have been quacks. I am due for a new one. Any here?

Not speaking to medical reality, it seems reasonable to consider kinetic motion and mass displacement of a replacement heart valve upon chest impact. My imagination wants to assign weight to a mechanical valve. this a bit more delicate with a bio tissue valve. However, once the surgical wound has healed it is supposedly stronger than virgin sternum especially if you have a sternum brace. Perhaps a replacement valve is stronger than OEM parts?

 

[tom in MO]

The only thing I'd them avoid if I my child on warfarin played soccer is headers. From what I've read that might not be too good if you are a "normal" much less on anticoagulants.

 

[Tinsley9911]

I'm curious ... why would you expect that?

I'd assumed you were concerned about IC bleeds exacerbated by INR being higher

Yeah that too but the fact my chest has been cut open will hard tackles and falls not injury my chest?

 

[pellicle]

Yeah that too but the fact my chest has been cut open will hard tackles and falls not injury my chest?

Mine was first cut open at 10
Then at 28
Then again at 48

In between all of these I've done Aikido, motorcycling, skiing, and plenty of other activities, so the answer is basically no.

Hasn't slowed Chuck C in MMA or Jiu-jitsu

 

[Chuck C]

Hasn't slowed Chuck C in MMA or Jiu-jitsu

Actually, I've mostly just been doing jiu-jitsu. As you know I train several days/week. But, as far as MMA, I just help my teamates train for their fights with ground work, no striking for me since being on warfarin.

 

[pellicle]

Actually, I've mostly just been doing jiu-jitsu. As you know I train several days/week. But, as far as MMA, I just help my teamates train for their fights with ground work, no striking for me since being on warfarin.

sure ... but you do a lot of rolling and grappling around at the very least, and the poster wasn't worried about head shots, but body

 

[Emmapenny]

Thank you for the reply means a lot so that other mums son plays full contact and is absolutely fine?

Yes - he’s been back playing for some time now as I understand.

 

[treichert0312]

Yeah that too but the fact my chest has been cut open will hard tackles and falls not injury my chest?

Broken bones heal in 6-8 weeks. Whether by tackle in football or by surgical bone saw - healed in 6-8 weeks for the most part. After my first OHS at 11 cardiologist was conservative and wouldn’t sign off on me getting on competitive pitch. I did play enough rec soccer to satisfy. My second OHS, when I got the pig valve, went fine and I played soccer for several in the over 40 league, but have not played since Covid and now with mech valve and warfarin I’m a bit more reluctant.
Not a very good mountain biker, usually wind up in a little crash and just seemed like it took weeks for the bruise to fade. So maybe no more mountain biking.
I’m all in for skiing, road biking, running. They had me doing weights for cardiac rehab - nothing intense but enough for me.
Funniest thing - after my second OHS, my sternum was bumpy and almost jagged. With #3, the surgeon smoothed out the bumps and sternum is about flat. Maybe filed down the rough edges? Surgical sandpaper?
Satisfied customer.

 

[pellicle]

Broken bones heal in 6-8 weeks. Whether by tackle in football or by surgical bone saw - healed in 6-8 weeks for the most part

and endothelisation means that tissue grows into and around the sutures of the valve (usually by 3 months) so that its as easy to rip out as ripping Ivy off a brick wall .. so basically its "grown in" by the body.

This can be seen all around the surface of the cuff of the valve for all valve types back to type A that Dick got.

Note H is a trans-catheter (TAVI TAVR) type, so it is a bit different.

 

[ATHENS1964]

Υesterday I went to the gym to see some judoka friends.
He was a young athlete with a brown belt who didn't have a uke in his arsenal and wanted to learn the uki-otoshi technique, after about 10 attempts I got a bruise on my hip. Nothing major and the breast was not affected, I don't feel pain anywhere else.
Ι just have to choose an experienced tori, I am 59 years old,I've always been an amateur and slowly I have to retire, not because of a heart problem with the valve, I'm just getting older and the bones are sensitive and because of osteoporosis that all the elderly have and because of that reflexes decrease .
https://judo.ijf.org/techniques/Uki-otoshi

 

[chebag]

I'm 31, had AVR in August 2021, and have been playing basketball and ultimate frisbee again since January 2022. Laid out over someone's shoulder playing frisbee on Monday, bruised my hand yesterday. Haven't taken any serious blows to the head or bled uncontrollably, as I eat well and have a relatively stable INR.

My valve is On-X, my target range is 1.5-2. My cardiologist has not discouraged me from playing basketball at all. My pharmacists are the ones who are wary about it, but I think that's just because their mind immediately goes to the bleeding risks that are stamped all over the pills they hand out.

My cardiologist, on the other hand, seemed far more worried about me becoming sedentary and not taking care of myself. He just tells me to be wary if I hit my head or suffer any serious impact. Otherwise, "no restrictions" was what he said. Weightlifting in the range of 15-20 reps was recommended as well, to avoid sending my blood pressure sky-high and dilating my aorta, which might result in the need for another AVR.

The fact of the matter is there is some risk involved in what I'm doing, but I'm taking that risk on because I want to live my life. Furthermore, that risk is attenuated to a degree because (1) if I hit my head, I'm not gonna hop in the car and drive 20 hours, I'm going to get myself to an ER where doctors can do their magic.

Rather than scaring myself, I remind myself of this: my endocarditis would have killed me without a doubt 100 years ago. These days, the AVR is a fairly routine procedure. As long as I listen to my body, consult with doctors about anything that ails me or is bothering me, and otherwise take good care of myself, I can live my life normally.