Spastic Breathing

[Jayhawk]

Just curios if anyone else has had this happen to them. You know when you cry really hard and do that "snort" of air? I do this multiple times a day. I have no warning that its coming. Feels like a big attempt to get air? I am 5 weeks out and feeling great!

 

[Mentu]

I think this is one of the many little "undocumented features" associated with these kinds of heart problems. In the two years before my AVR, I experienced those sudden indrawn breaths with ever increasing frequency. Neither my cardiologist or my surgeon were particularly interested in them. I can tell you that after surgery, the came less often and now that I'm past 4 years, I don't notice them happening at all.

Larry

 

[DebbyA]

Same here, sort of. First experienced after first AVR, now having them again when second AVR is approaching. Medical people seem to know what you mean, but aren't interested.

 

[Jason]

If this is a fast intake of breath that is sort of staggered, I experienced these both before and after my surgery. Before surgery it would happen infrequently, and always concerned me for a few minutes after which I would move on with whatever I was doing. After my surgery I had these quite often, only now I could hear my heart beat since I had a mechanical valve in my chest. What I found was that every time I had the little breath catch/sharp intake, I was also experiencing an irregular, fast heart beat or a palpitation. My heart would flutter a bit, then settle back into rhythm. While this was going on my breath would catch/hitch, then resume back to normal. I had these quite a bit (along with Atrial Flutter) after my surgery, and over time these have gone away almost completely. My two cents...

 

[epstns]

I, too, had these for the first couple of months after surgery. At first they were distracting and unnerving, but as time went on and nothing bad happened, I just got on with life. I can't even remember at what point they stopped, but they did.

 

[Rachel]

I also had them from time to time right after my surgery - I also don't remember when they stopped - after 6 months maybe