Sherre's Guestbook

Hi Sherre, and welcome. Not sure what Heart surgery you are getting and a lot depends on that. I can tell you that I am doing great 7 1/2 weeks post op, you can read my posts or journal if you wish. I can tell you that besides the type of heart / valve surgery it also matters what kind of physical condition you are in and what if other medical issues you have. One thing they dont tell you is that in the short time of your surgery, one of the issues is that you can lose between 35 - 60 % of your lung capacity. In my 4 hr surgery I lost 60%. Yes you can get it back but you have to work at it, I think it took me 4 weeks, I would have to read my own journal to be positive, but I worked hard at doing lung expanding exercises both before and after surgery. Everyones surgery, complications and recovery is dfferent but the recovery is not the same sitting on a couch as it is if you are out and working on it. That is one of the things that you have control over 😀 All the best. PS, the type of valve you chose also can have a big impact on your recovery.

Sherre, I had my heart valve replaced with a mechanical one three years ago when I was 58. I thought the surgery was a breeze, with just minimal pain. I wasn't short of breath very long after surgery. I ended up staying in the hospital for 10 days rather than the normal amount of time of 3 days. It took me a little longer for the doctors to get my INR number normal and I still have a hard time keeping it between 25-35. My biggest challenge is the after affect of staying on the heart-lung machine for a longer time than normal in surgery I am what is called a "pumphead". You should read all about this before your surgery. It's a rare thing to happen, but I have the symptoms and signs of it. Don't bother to ask your doctor about it because they deny that it exists. Just check it out so that you can be informed about it if it happens to you. Like I said, the surgery and pain were just minimal. Best of luck to you and don't be afraid, it's just another adventure that you're going on.