Silly Question # 3

[jackc]

Hey Group..Happy Easter, Passover,

Today was so wonderful in Niiagara area ( sun out, reasonably warm for this time of year ) I decided to go for a walk with my marvellous wife ( 2 miles in approx 28 min. ) and after lunch I went to hit a bucket of golf balls !

My silly question is: if I need a quadruple bypass and an Aortic valve replacement how come I feel so good now ? ( did the walking and golf with no angina ). Since I heard the news from my surgeon I have raked and rolled my lawn, made the garage switch from winter to spring, and increased my exercise regimen.

I said to my wife that since my "transient stroke" after my last Angiogram I have yet to have an angina attack in spite of my stupid efforts to create one. And yet all the tests indicated action soon before I have the " big one" ( last heart attack Dec. 10, 1993 )

Whats happening ??

Jack ( Welland )

 

[Ron K]

asymtomatic

asymtomatic

Hi Jack,

I'm glad to hear that you are feeling very good and that so far you are relatively asymptomatic. It's natural to wonder "If I feel so good, why do I have to undergo major surgery?"

Well, the simple answer is that if you want to continue to feel that good or better, you have to head off the problem that's just down the road. Once you start to have symptoms like chest pains, at least from the AV stand point, you are doing irrepairable damage to the heart muscle.

I didn't have any problems with arteries or a history of heart problems, but my aortic valve was leaking moderately to severly and the mitrial valve was leaking mild to moderately. I had absolutely no symptoms and no restrictions.

I was in good shape and relatively young going into the surgery and I think that's why my recovery is going so well now. If I had waited until the symptoms started, I'd be a lot worse off today.

I hope this helps answer that nagging question.

Happy Easter to you too.

Ron K

 

[Nancy]

Hi Jack-

I'm so glad that at this point you are not having symptoms. The doctor must be seeing numbers in your test results which are cause for concern.

There are a number of posts on this site talking about the heart compensating over time for inadequate functioning. If you do a search using the word compensated and the word compensating, you can see some of these posts. It does some of this compensating by enlarging and putting lots of pressure on the valves and vascular system of the heart. Over time these problems will become symptomatic and you will not feel well. I'm sure the doctor sees this happening and is trying to head off the problems before it gets too far gone.

Here's a link for a site that discusses the various types of heart valve problems and what happens when they become symptomatic.

http://heartdisease.about.com/gi/dy...2Fvalvedis.html

I hope this helps. best wishes to you.

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi jack!
i am in total agreement with nancy and ron. the doctors must be seeing something that indicates surgery should be done.
i'm so glad you're feeling so well. i think that drs dont delve into this surgery lightly and if they are recommending it soon, it may be so that you don't have anything happen before they "fix your heart".
if you are unsure, why don't you ask them?
in the meantime, please keep us posted and keep feeling well.
all the best, sylvia

 

[Mara]

Jack.
Ditto Nancy and Ron.
You might think you feel great, but wait until after the surgery, then you really will feel great. The progression is sometimes so slow that your don't notice it. I only felt tired and then only really tired for about 6 months before the surgery, but I could still hike, ride bikes, chase the dog. Never had angina, had some PVCs but the cardio was never concerned. I had some tachycardia, but I blamed that on too much Mt. Dew and Coca Cola. Some people, like Ron, never feel one symptom. Trouble is with valve problems is if that valve goes, it just goes, and you fall over. It might not even feel like a heart attack, none of those precursor symtoms, elephants on your chest or numbness. If the cardio says you need it, you probably do. My cardio finally saw the changes he was looking for on echo and that was all. Fatigue was only one factor.

The change after the surgery is pretty amazing.

Good luck!
-Mara

 

[Rain]

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Hey Jack,

You ask some great questions. This is what happened to me........

My heart gradually got worse over time. My PCP didn?t think the surgery was necessary because when she asked me how I was I said, ?fine? and I was still performing all my daily activities. Even water skiing. So even though my annual echos were showing my heart becoming enlarged, more leakage, etc. she (the PCP) didn?t send me to a cardio (or even put me on any meds) until it was too late. Because of waiting so long for the surgery my heart will forever be enlarged, I am in constant atrial fib, taking meds I otherwise would not be taking, etc.

My cardio says at some point in time my now 18 year old son will need heart surgery... I guarantee you if I have anything to say about it... He WILL have the surgery sooner, rather than later! Listen to your Cardio .... ask him a million questions.

The surgery isn?t that bad, why put it off until you have problems you otherwise wouldn?t have?

Best of luck to you.... I swear, the worst time is making the decisions, doing the research and waiting for the surgery. Once you have the surgery, it all begins to get better.

Rain

 

[McCln]

Jack

Jack

I agree with everyone. You might be feeling better now, especially since it was a nice day and it was a casual stroll. But do have the surgery and you will feel better longer. I just had mine last September and feel better than I did this time last year. I was still sometimes gasping for air despite had been smoke free for a few weeks. I am now doing better, still smoke free and can walk six blocks with gasping for air. You will be better soon also. You listen and get that surgey done when it is scheduled. You will feel better soon.

Caroline
Aortic valve replacement
09-13-01
St. Jude's valve

 

[Jean]

Another Agreement!

Another Agreement!

I am in full support of what the others have said. I had my surgery at 56 when symptoms got quite noticealbe. I was lucky, I had no permanent heart damage. Looking back I can truthfully say, I never felt as good as I do now for a decade or more before surgery. In fact, I find somethings I do now that I never could have done and recovered as nicely, such as recovering from a good run or hard work around the farm. Sure I did all that stuff, but I was always the last to regain a normal breathing rate in my running group and a hard day's work on the farm would have me pooped for a day or two afterwards. I am feeling so great now, two years post surgery, I sometimes wonder if other people who don't know and see me think I'm crazy. It just feels so good! After you recover from surgery, I bet you too will be amazed!