Strenuous exercise after Bentall

[matty]

Hi,

I'm a 43 year old (Aussie), 2 years post Bentall procedure. I'm feeling pretty good now, except for the weight I've gained and the conditioning that I've lost.
I remember at the time of surgery the advice in the hospital pamphlets was generic to heart surgery patients and it recommended "no more strenuous exercise".
I've pressed my cardio for advice and she wont be drawn on what is too high a heart rate, but asks "why do I have to push hard, why can I not just exercise moderately" ?

So.... In the last month I've started doing the last part of my commute to work on a push bike. It feels good to push myself. I'm not concerned about the valve but I do think about the dacron parts of my cardiovascular system.
This morning's ride to work lasted 25 minutes. My average heart rate was 150, max heart rate of 167, and I spent about 10 minutes at 160.

I'm wondering if any of you out there who have re-do roots and/or dacron ascending aortas have any advice or experience to offer with perceived or imposed exercise limitations regarding heart rate ?

Thank you.

 

[pellicle]

I've not done any cycle commuting for some time but when I asked my surgeon this specific question (and yes I have a dacron graft) he said that I can spin my heart rate as high as I want and its not a problem (this was on my 3rd surgery btw). He was more cautious about heavy weight lifting and suggested as long as I avoided spikes in blood pressure and didn't hold my breath (pressurising the system more, think of the spongy lungs also being able to act as a hydraulic shock absorber) I'd be OK.

I did cross country ski training solidly in recovery for 3 seasons ... frequently seeing 140 average and 167 peaks over 40 min skis 3 or 4 times per week. But I now burn out if I go over 160 (and can hold 160 for 10 or so minutes (but hey I'm 55))

every checkup its all been perfect.

However like leadville I have had to slow down a little with some tendonitis in elbows (polling) and something like arthritis in my big toe joint (motorcycle injury from my mis-spent youth)

Keep records and if you see a decline occuring then I suspect you'll have found your 'over training' point

Best Wishes

 

[user 16827]

EDITED a typo and it says " spam"

will my post turn up or is it lost forever ?

 

[Paleowoman]

EDITED a typo and it says " spam"

will my post turn up or is it lost forever ?

Unfortunately it would appear to be lost forever I had the same happen the day beofre yesterday when I was just correcting a spelling mistake. I always make a copy of my posts before I click 'post reply', and I keep that copy for a short while just in case I find the need to change something and the software police takes the post away. It's usually when there are links in a post that it can attract a spam ticket, though I didn't have any in that post of mine the other day so was very surprised.

 

[pellicle]

EDITED a typo and it says " spam"

will my post turn up or is it lost forever ?

nope, its gone ... its something about the place I bitch about but nothing happens...

my solution is:

1. don't edit
2. select all, then copy before hitting save (you can then paste back in if it vanishes

shame, it was a good succinct post

 

[user 16827]

ahh damn it

Cheers peeps

 

[matty]

Thank you for the effort and response. I appreciate knowing someone else's experience in a similar situation.

 

[pellicle]

.... It's usually when there are links in a post that it can attract a spam ticket, though I didn't have any in that post of mine the other day so was very surprised.

actually, there were none in leadville s post either ... I've had it happen with none too ... it is just a failure of admin

 

[Paleowoman]

... it is just a failure of admin

I think it must be something built into the software of the forum what alerts it is a mystery.

 

[pellicle]

I think it must be something built into the software of the forum

Yes, it's exactly what it seems to be, spam prevention. It's an administrator configuration setting.

 

[tom in MO]

Hi,

I'm a 43 year old (Aussie), 2 years post Bentall procedure. I'm feeling pretty good now, except for the weight I've gained and the conditioning that I've lost.
I remember at the time of surgery the advice in the hospital pamphlets was generic to heart surgery patients and it recommended "no more strenuous exercise".
I've pressed my cardio for advice and she wont be drawn on what is too high a heart rate, but asks "why do I have to push hard, why can I not just exercise moderately" ?

So.... In the last month I've started doing the last part of my commute to work on a push bike. It feels good to push myself. I'm not concerned about the valve but I do think about the dacron parts of my cardiovascular system.
This morning's ride to work lasted 25 minutes. My average heart rate was 150, max heart rate of 167, and I spent about 10 minutes at 160.

I'm wondering if any of you out there who have re-do roots and/or dacron ascending aortas have any advice or experience to offer with perceived or imposed exercise limitations regarding heart rate ?

Thank you.

Some health care workers don't believe that "pushing hard" is good for the body, especially when you reach middle age. She could have this bias. You might be specific and tell her what exercise you want to do, since bicycling to work is just life, not really exercise You could ask your surgeon. Is heart rate the problem or blood pressure? You might want to ask this instead. I've read and been told by my cardio nurse that any exercise that you hold your breath for a relatively long time (e.g. some isometric exercises) is not recommended for a compromised cardiovascular system. But this isn't the case with bicycling.

 

[spartangator]

Getting consistent, evidence-based advice seems to be hard to come by, per the conversations around here over the years. The breath-holding recommendation is the only (and clearly logical) suggestion I've seen come up over and over.

matty Obviously, take the advice of your care providers since they know your case best, but we have lots of people here that challenge themselves (within reason) for decades.

 

[neo]

I’ve had a Ross, Bentall, and new aortic biological valve. Things have been going well for 6 years, now starting to “strength train” more regularly. At first, I was using 15 and 20 pound dumbbells. They got too easy, and really wanted to step it up. I’m now using 30 pound dumbbells. I can do curls without holding my breath, but they are more challenging and you can feel the blood flow more. Wondering, is 30 pounders pushing it? Muscle is so important for metabolic purposes, and want to make sure I build some while I can. Thanks

 

[Lorrib60]

Hi,

I'm a 43 year old (Aussie), 2 years post Bentall procedure. I'm feeling pretty good now, except for the weight I've gained and the conditioning that I've lost.
I remember at the time of surgery the advice in the hospital pamphlets was generic to heart surgery patients and it recommended "no more strenuous exercise".
I've pressed my cardio for advice and she wont be drawn on what is too high a heart rate, but asks "why do I have to push hard, why can I not just exercise moderately" ?

So.... In the last month I've started doing the last part of my commute to work on a push bike. It feels good to push myself. I'm not concerned about the valve but I do think about the dacron parts of my cardiovascular system.
This morning's ride to work lasted 25 minutes. My average heart rate was 150, max heart rate of 167, and I spent about 10 minutes at 160.

I'm wondering if any of you out there who have re-do roots and/or dacron ascending aortas have any advice or experience to offer with perceived or imposed exercise limitations regarding heart rate ?

Thank you.

Hi:

I had a dacron graft on 8/19/10. My strenuous activity is taking 5 spin classes per week. My heartate goes up to 171, average is 165 (doc said it should stay at 155) and I feel fine. I had a aortic valve repair and the aneurysm which required the graft. Now my valve is stenotic and valve replacement is now looming on the horizon.

 

[Dan Zulu]

Anyone know of any medical studies on the durability of Dacron ascending aortas or the sutures?