Visual problems following cardiac surgery

[Mooney]

I am all for positive thinking but I am honestly getting very discouraged with this. With every episode I am wondering if I am having a stroke or just what is going on. And the Internet is full of patient reports of the same experience following heart surgery yet there are no reports of it going away, or diminishing in frequency over time. There seems to be no light at the tunnel to look forward to on this matter.

I have had these episodes while driving, while at work, while shopping, during client meetings etc, and I have to say these are the most disconcerting and distracting symptoms I have ever had from my mitral valve experience, either pre or post surgery.

 

[Owenall]

I am all for positive thinking but I am honestly getting very discouraged with this. With every episode I am wondering if I am having a stroke or just what is going on. And the Internet is full of patient reports of the same experience following heart surgery yet there are no reports of it going away, or diminishing in frequency over time. There seems to be no light at the tunnel to look forward to on this matter.

I have had these episodes while driving, while at work, while shopping, during client meetings etc, and I have to say these are the most disconcerting and distracting symptoms I have ever had from my mitral valve experience, either pre or post surgery.

Hi Richard,

Like you I get these episodes of migraine with aura at any time of day and sometimes in the night.
I had AVR in April 2013, valve replaced with mechanical version and double bypass, I have suffered with migraine for over 40 years, although the last 5 or 6 years it hasn’t involved nausea or headache like I used to get.
Since the operation I have had on average 1 or 2 Migraines every week with aura and other visual disturbances at various times, i.e floaters, flashing light spots etc, but again no headache. I don’t recognize any triggers for these migraines like I could for the aura before the AVR, so perhaps as Paleogirl says they are not the same type of migraine as before.

It has been nearly 2 years since my operation and so far there has been no improvement in the amount of aura and disturbances, I was in intensive care for 7 days after complications and I can remember having 3 migraines in one day during that time. I take bisoprolol, statin and warfarin since the AVR, although I was taking the bisoprolol and statin before the operation, so I have put it down to the warfarin effect, who knows?

Best wishes Phil

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Mooney - when I asked my cardiologist about these migraine auras he said I could see a neurologist if they persisted. When I found out that so many of us valvers get them and that they appear benign I just let that drop BUT if you are getting distressed by these episodes then there can be no harm seeing a neurologist to get things checked over.

 

[cldlhd]

The auras that I'm getting post surgery look just like the ones I've had with migraine since I was 12 years old, normally I would get a couple a year . So I was wondering what percentage of people who are getting these auras without migraine post surgery got them with migraine before and how many didn't. Also I think it's possible that the visual aura is the same or similar but being caused by 2 different things. Maybe the physiological effect of a certain migraines on the visual region of the brain are similar to the effect from being on the heart and lung machine (assuming that's the cause) . That would explain people who never had them or migraines before getting them post surgery and people who had both pre surgery getting them now without the headache or nausea.
As for the positive thinking I've seen people out here who are still getting the visual disturbances a couple of years later and others who had them go away after a few months . Since I'm only one month into my recovery I'm hoping for the latter and wouldn't mind hearing from anyone out here who had them diminish or disappear over time , thanks

 

[extraordinary]

exprecined visual problems as well so it's totally normal side effect by time it will get much better and dispear

 

[cldlhd]

exprecined visual problems as well so it's totally normal side effect by time it will get much better and dispear

Thanks,that's good to hear

 

[Paleowoman]

Just over a year on from surgery and mine are much less often too.

 

[cldlhd]

That's good,been a couple days since I've had one -fingers crossed. Feel a lot better since I started with the morning cup of coffee again ,was wondering if the lack of caffeine could be a trigger,who knows.

 

[Dan Zulu]

Mine are mostly gone.

 

[Owenall]

Well I'm still hoping, I'm nearly 2 years since AVR and mine are still happening just as often, ah well perhaps its just me!

 

[cldlhd]

I see my surgeon next week and I'm going to mention it but I assume it'll probably be blown off even though I can't imagine I'll be the first to mention it. I finally saw a neurologist about the migraines, put it off for years because only get a couple a year, so maybe they would be mire willing to acknowledge the connection between ohs and this phenomenon but even so that doesn't mean they'll be able to do anything about it,

 

[Paleowoman]

My cardiologist didn't seem to know about them which surprised me…….but said I could see a neurologist if the visual problems were a nuisance. The migraine auras without headache are quite rare with me now. The worst is the double vision but that's getting less too. Still get sparkly blobs of light crossing my vision everyday but they're just pretty.

 

[cldlhd]

Well at least they're nice to look at. I haven't had the double vision as of yet.

 

[pellicle]

Well at least they're nice to look at. I haven't had the double vision as of yet.

its sorta weird when it happens, its like you go slowly "cross eyed". Of course closing one eye returns single vision, but its interesting that they eyes can't align (yet coordinate to look at something) ... feels strange inside the head too ... happens now and then for me (less than 4 times a year)

 

[Paleowoman]

its sorta weird when it happens, its like you go slowly "cross eyed". Of course closing one eye returns single vision, but its interesting that they eyes can't align (yet coordinate to look at something) ... feels strange inside the head too ... happens now and then for me (less than 4 times a year)

It makes me feel like I'm going to fall over so I have to shut both eyes quick. Thankfully it doesn't last more than half a minute or so.

 

[gregjohnsondsm]

Yes!! I have been getting the exact same thing. For 5 or 6 years pre-op. I'm only 11 days post-op so I don't know yet. I have had head MRI's. Gastro testing. No one can tell me anything. I kept a journal and two things seemed clear. 1) it was related to eating. 1-2 hours after eating something. 2) the episodes came in batches. I would have none for months at a stretch. Then they would gradually increase in freq. to where I would have 1 or 2 a week. Only ever lasted 30 sec or less. But I got to where I could start to feel them before they happened.
But they felt exactly as you described and you are the only other person I have found who has them.

 

[Paleowoman]

Pre-surgery the only visual problems I had were migraines with auras and those were always related to my menstral cycle. Once I was post-menopausal no migraines So all these current migraine auras, double vision and blobs of silver crossing vision are all related to heart surgery as they started happening straight after - got first migraine aura (but without headache) a couple of days post op. Everything is getting much less now I just over a year on.

Greg, if you re referring to the double vision you could easily be referred to a neurologist to check things out. About five years pre-surgery I was referred to a neurologist because I was getting "exertional headaches" which are related to migraines which I used tp get when weight training. I had MRI to check for brain anyeurism, as having BAV puts you hat risk not just for aortic anyeurism but also other vascular ones such as in the brain. My brain vascular system was fine.

 

[Agian]

Hi Paleogirl. I was told that the aortic valve and ascending aorta have the same embryological origin and that the rest of the aorta is 'normal'. However, aneurysms can spread downstream. BAV can sometimes be associated with coarctation of the aorta, this is a narrowing above which BP is higher. This higher BP is what can contribute to brain aneurysms. This is how it was explained to me.

 

[cldlhd]

Hi Paleogirl. I was told that the aortic valve and ascending aorta have the same embryological origin and that the rest of the aorta is 'normal'. However, aneurysms can spread downstream. BAV can sometimes be associated with coarctation of the aorta, this is a narrowing above which BP is higher. This higher BP is what can contribute to brain aneurysms. This is how it was explained to me.

I was given basically the same info and was also told ,and shown, how my aorta where it turns from the arch to the descending has a mild kink with no evidence of coarctation. The beginning of my arch was starting to get a little wider and my surgeon believed that the ascending was pulling it apart as it grew.

 

[pellicle]

I don't know if I'm somehow influencing my memories (thinking about these things differently now) but I have clear memories of my first migraines when I was in my late teens ... I recall having a visual disturbance and throwing up in a carpark outside of seaworld. These things happened from time to time (the visual disturbances) and I don't recall them earlier. Could be just because I don't remember them ... anyway ... my parents took me to an optometerist (recall this is like 1978) who was a bit mystified (and how much has knowledge in the medical world diversified since then!) and reported my vision was fine.

Interestingly I was just thinking that this was only a few years after my first OHS.

I got some migraines though out high school, and when I was at Uni there were times when they were quite debilitating.

They cleared up over time (never quite going away) and I eventually found that going to a chiropracter (for a neck injury) seemed to clear them up. I had not expected this side effect.

After my 2nd OHS (1992) they started back but (as I was already going to a chiro now and then) seemed to diminish. Just prior to my 3rd OHS I seem to recall not having them for years.

Now I have them again ... but when I keep my neck mobilised (by exersize, weights and XC skiing) they seem to be less.

dunno