Vicki's Journal

I had Mitral Valve Repair done 2 yrs ago. My left ventricular is still enlarged from severe regurtation & leakage. My surgery was success, however I suffer from AFib now and more frequent dizziness that is brought on by drop in blood pressure. (90/57, 93/60 etc) I have had 4 in the past 3 weeks. The last one our Urgent Care took me to the ER by ambulance. My latest Echo shows my valve is still leaking. Should it be? Wouldn’t that add to my enlarged left ventricle?

I had a mitral valve repair done 1 year ago. Ever since then I occasionally get Pericarditis. This usually subsides in a few days with rest. This week the squeezing, pain, shortness of breath, and fatigue were awful! I have been to the ER twice since Christmas and the tests showed fluid around my heart. (Pericarditis) has anyone experienced this after open-heart surgery and what could be the cause of the reoccurrence? It's very troublesome, nerve-racking and 'scary'! Vicki

I had Mitral Valve repair and excision of left atrium lobe. I’m 2weeks past now. I’m still trying to come to terms with everything that happened. My views of post surgery may be different from yours, but I want to be honest. I can out of surgery feeling like I got dumped in a linion closest . My ICU nurse was very abrupt and had no bedside manner. I was in excruciating pain. All she could muster up was ‘yeah, heart surgery is a bummer! My night nurse, I assumed was in training because she didn’t know how to do many of the procedures. During the night I vomited on myself several times. My nurse was absent for over an hour and had failed to give me a call light. I could t yell because of the line /tube down my throat. When I finally flagged her in to clean me up. I wrote for her to call my husband -my best advocate. When I asked if she reached my husband, she said ‘awwwww, no, did you really want me to call him.?! She didn’t have a clue why my oxygen level was so low & or how to rectify it. She had to have someone else else come in to show her how to ‘clean a line’ I had no confidence in her. Finally when going down to general Cardiac care. These nurses were incredible. Caring, skilled, compassionate, and their professional attitude would never juggle small jars over my sternum. I had to spout off about that , Sorry!! A few things came up in the hospital that I wasn’t excepting. Waking up from surgery, I was in excruiting pain. Also,, my rotary cuff was torn during surgery. It took day for anyone to finely listen. That pain overshadowed all the sternum pain, so that was quite bareable. The other unfortunate surprise was when the PAtook my lines our from my stomach & neck. I had read that someone slept through it, it was excruciating painful. The stitches (without numbing ) in my stomach we’re very painful. I know I sound like a ‘Debbie Downer, I wish I had the hard truths in this process. Now that I’m home for a week, I can manage very well. I did get a steroid shot in the should. Helped so much!

My surgery is fast approaching (January 10th) and I just found this site! Feeling a little isolated because no one I know has gone through this and I didn't want to be a buzz-kill to any of my friends. It means so much to read all of your comments that have inspired me. For the first time in this journey I feel like I have a place to find comfort and ask questions that no one could possibly know or understand. Pain Management, Tubes coming and going, will I still be 'young at heart'? I have lost 2 husbands to Massive Heart Attacks at 47 yrs old and 58 yrs old. I feel inside a sense of fate? I'm trying so hard to stay the positive person that I am. As the time of surgery nears, my fears are many. Thank you for all taking the time to encourage, show understanding and cheer on the next member of our little family!

I am having a Replacement/Repair of my Mitral Valve on the 10th of January. I was wondering if anyone else has had an excision of the left side of an enlarged chamber. Is this a normal procedure? In everything I've read no one has mentioned that they had this done.