Sternum healing 4-6 weeks after BAVR. Your heart heals in....?

[Robbyha]

Hi Everyone,

It's showtime: AVR at monday 29 nov 2010 -> mechanical valve, after a very sportive year but.....progression of the AVA (1,1 -> 0,6 cm2 in 1 year)

Still asymptomatic, all the time, until 3 weeks ago (dizzy when heartrate 'peaks' above 125) Keep your fingers crossed for me. Not nervous at this moment, maybe tomorrow i am.

There are lot's of stories about the recovery of a broken sternum after an openheart surgery.

What about the healing of your heart in the first 4 weeks (and max. load) when:
- AVR will 100% succeed
- no complications, no palpitations
- no extra medicines except bloodthinners
- no extra wounds etc.
What does happen in your heart? what has to heal in your heart?
What is the load of your heart?
Sternum-restrictions are clear, heartrestrictions don't (when AVR 100% succeed).

My condition is just fine, cardiologist expect me to return at home in 5 days.

Of course it will depend on your individual capacity (i'm a very sporty guy >40yr)
I want to recover on an indoor cycling bike at home monitoring my heartrate all the time.
I've got a lot of energy and maybe they have to tie me up after AVR when they've told me that i'm lucky guy with a new 33mm aortic valve

very much greetings and hope to be online soon

 

[bluefields409]

praying everything goes smoothly for you. Keep us post when able

 

[Sarah_Louise]

Good luck!
Hope everythin goes well 4 you =) xxx

 

[Jkm7]

Hope your surgery goes smoothly and you have a bump free recovery.
As to your exercise restrictions/freedoms, it is probably best to discuss your individual situation with your doctors. Everyone is so different.

Best wishes.

 

[neil]

good luck rob you will be just fine,

 

[Greg a]

The sternum will heal in that time frame for most people as long as you adhere to the sternal precautions given to you ........niothing more than a jug of milk, no overhead or behind the back ......keep that sternum as quiet and still as you can WE ALL think we can do things that we are told not to do BUT really we are all made of the same materials

 

[MarkG87]

Good luck to you. I had AVR on 11/19, came home on Thanksgiving day (6 days). Bit of dehydration & heart rate kept me in 1 extra day. Had a bit of a fever since I've home, but overall doing well.

 

[normofthenorth]

I'm right behind you, Robby. By 2 days for surgery, and pretty close on symptoms, too. And I'm also curious about the answers to your questions about cardiac recovery.

 

[Robbyha]

best wishes / good luck Norm!!!

 

[catfan]

Good luck Rob, I sure everything will go fine.
I am 44 years old and had my AVR (mechanical) 2 1/2 months ago. Prior to surgery I had no symptoms and was walking 5-6 miles a day at 5 mph on the treadmill.
Yesterday I was able to walk 7 miles at a rate of 5 mph.
Just be sure not to push your rehab too hard. You need to gradually work in to it each day. If possible, look into Cardiac Rehab at your local hospital for a couple of weeks, they can monitor your heart during those first 2 weeks your rehab. I believe most insurances will cover this cost

 

[ski girl]

If you've seen how people look after plastic surgery, all bruised and swollen, it's the same with your heart. It was stopped, cut open, parts removed, new parts sewn into place with probably 100+ needle pokes, then the heart was sewn back up, and restarted. This is a lot to go through for one organ - you just can't see how much abuse it took! The poor thing is angry. Mine had several periods of weird rhythms and RHR up to 150 despite me going into the surgery very fit and healthy and also under 40.

You won't have much choice but to listen to what it says, but best to be cautious because the last thing you want is to be back in hospital with a damaged heart just for the sake of not losing a bit of fitness (I really battled with that and still do). It's three months max out of your life and then you're a new person!

 

[bigsidster]

Good luck both Rob and Norm.God bless you both and grant you full recovery.I agree with SKIGIRL that you need to take 3 months and mend properly,No need to RUSH because it might just prolong recovery.

 

[Lily]

Robby, from what I've read here over the past seven years, I think peoples' recoveries seem highly variable. FWIW, my surgeon told me not to lift or push or pull more than five pounds for eight weeks and he didn't want me to drive for that length of time either, though I usually read a six week warning from many other valve patients. Your surgeon probably also has his recommendations for you, based on much experience. It seems to take several months for most of us to feel ourselves and my sternum really felt strange for much longer than that, like when I would lift a large case of water or something.

For medications, same reply: highly variable. I was off all meds (except daily aspirin) within 3 months post-op but had to go back on a bp medication about a year post-op; not an unusual experience either.

Other complications: Again, variable. Several weeks out, I developed a rib inflammation situation called costochondritis which caused a lot of pain for awhile, I still seem to have a "tweaked" collarbone situation from the surgery, and sometimes have arrhythmia issues. But maybe I'm a little more delicate than some.

The biggest thing was for me that: Overall, I was amazed at how much better I felt post-op, having a properly working valve doing its job. Many strange little accumulated physical issues seemed to resolve for me, things I hadn't earlier realized must have been related to my previous inefficient valve and blood flow.

I hope this was helpful. And I hope you will feel very well also. Best wishes

 

[JeffM]

Robby - Sorry I didn't see your post before your scheduled surgery. By now, you should be free of chest tubes and busy trying to convince your medical caretakers that you're capable of going home. Regarding your questions: I think Lily answered with as much certainty as one can given the individual nature of a "full recovery". My Cardio told me after 6 weeks my heart would be healed from the surgery but that it can take a year to recover and remodel. While it undergoes those changes lots of little manifestations can be felt, decreasing episodes of afib and other types of palpitations being primary among them. Medication reduction and cessation will depend on your Cardio's philiosphy and on your specific condition during your recovery and response to your surgery. How you do with exercise post op is also very individual specific. Lily felt better right away. It took me about year to get back to my pre-op conditioning (I'm an avid road cyclist - also a "sporty" kinda guy). My only symptom pre-op was increasing Afib. On the other hand, I had back surgery 6 mths after my AVR, so that did more to slow my recovery than the actual heart surgery. In my case, it had more to do with reduced training time and intensity. After 6 months, I felt fine from a cardiovascular perspective. Other well conditioned athletes I know who have undergone valve replacement or repair were doing full-on (or close to it) workouts not long after 6 months. My med reductions were: Amiodarone (to control ahrrythmias) - 2 months; Coumadin (anitcoagulant) - 3 months; Beta Blocker (Metoprolol to keep HR low) - 4.5 months; ARB (like ACE Inhibitor, to reduce BP to assist the heart's remodelling effort) - 1 year. You will notice the beta blocker will keep both your resting and your exercise HR low and that will change as soon as you are weaned off of it.

Good luck with your recovery and don't push it. You have plenty of time to get back in shape. You will be amazed at how quickly you start feeling better and you will be tempted to over do it....don't.

 

[Robbyha]

Thank you for all the good wishes and reply.
After a surgery of 6 days i returned at home with a carbomedics 25mm.
My first experience after an OHS (AVR) is, that my rehab will take very slow and relaxed.
AVR has been successfull but there were some complications after (bloodtransfusion for low hb and cardioversion for
heartpalpitations in the first week ) and i'm still suffering because of a non-functioned drain in my breast.
My heartrate at Rest after AVR is much higher (30 beats) than before surgery.
(Before 60, after 90)
A few days ago i started with a daily 4 x 5 minute-training on my indoor cycling bike at home (max
peak HR: 105)