Kimberley Wisdom - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

2734 days ago

Hi, everyone. I'm new to the site. I had aortic valve replacement surgery on 6-7-17, so I'm right at two weeks post-op. I had an echo last year but never got ...Read more

Hi, everyone. I'm new to the site. I had aortic valve replacement surgery on 6-7-17, so I'm right at two weeks post-op. I had an echo last year but never got the results until the beginning of this year, when I was told it was moderate stenosis. I had another echo the next week and was told it had progressed to severe. The reason I was even seeing a cardiologist is because I had SVT for about 30 years before finally having an ablation four years ago that fixed the awful rapid heartbeat. I had weird little flutters and such, but not the feeling that my heartbeat was going to go into the 200 beats a minute phase. Last night while lying in bed I started to get that clunky feeling that my heart was getting ready to go into overdrive. Has anyone else had this happen to them? I have called my doctor for so many things since surgery, I really want to know if this is normal before bothering them again. I'm still very out of breath after moderate activity, but am told that is normal. Reading some of the comments here, I wish I had found this site sooner so I didn't bother my doctor with all these things that you guys are feeling too! Thanks in advance for any comments.

Marie Myers Welcome to the site. I had an AVR also, 12 weeks ago. I had some unpleasant irregular heartbeats for ... Read more

Marie Myers Welcome to the site. I had an AVR also, 12 weeks ago. I had some unpleasant irregular heartbeats for about 4 weeks post surgery. They have gradually lessened , and I have not felt any for several weeks. My arrythmyias did not last over an hour, and I had no other symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, ect. If you have serious symptoms with your irregular heart beats, or the rate is high (like the 200 beats you had) I would call your doc ...

Barbara Wood Hi Kimberley, I had a mitral valve repair 4 weeks ago & developed AFib a few days after I got home. I ... Read more

Barbara Wood Hi Kimberley, I had a mitral valve repair 4 weeks ago & developed AFib a few days after I got home. It didn't convert so I had a cardioversion on Tue. My Dr told me to call if the heart rate went consistently over 110-it was in the low teens when they decided to cardiovert. I'd give them a call.

Kimberley Wisdom Thank you guys for responding. These episodes have not lasted more than about 20 minutes, but they ar ... Read more

Kimberley Wisdom Thank you guys for responding. These episodes have not lasted more than about 20 minutes, but they are scary! I will call my doctor tomorrow to see if he thinks it needs further looking into. Thanks again.

Rita Savelis It's okay to call your doctor. I went to see my GP regularly when I got out of hospital because I jus ... Read more

Rita Savelis It's okay to call your doctor. I went to see my GP regularly when I got out of hospital because I just wanted a medical person to tell everything to, and cardiologists are hard to see. Then the GP could call the cardiologist if she couldn't handle it.
It's hard to suddenly be on your own without someone to ask questions of when you feel fragile.
These fast heartbeats seem to occur at some level with everyone, and one is SO very aware of one's heart for a long time (forever?) after surgery.
Hopefully for you Kimberley they are just the usual irregular heartbeats that seem to come and go for a bit after sugery, but it's always okay to call a doctor with questions. Take care.

Civita Fahey Hi I had an AVR 8 weeks ago and at first I did feel my heart beating.. it seemed to move my body.. bu ... Read more

Civita Fahey Hi I had an AVR 8 weeks ago and at first I did feel my heart beating.. it seemed to move my body.. but it has lessened and doesn't happen much sometimes if I haven't drunk enough water I will feel it.. I drink and its fine.. it feels like the heart is beating fast but when I look at the fitbit its normal.. its normal to have some SOB still with activity, I just started to be able to walk at my normal speed without it.. I was told at cardiac rehab that some of it is deconditioning after not having done it in a while.. so, unless you are really out of breath then it should be ok.. remember its only two weeks out don't over do it..I know I had a hard time with that..