Adam’s Heart Valve Surgery Blog

A fundamental, unexpected challenge of my heart surgery recovery was severe cardiac depression. After my aortic valve replacement, cardiac depression hit me like a ton of bricks. I was feeling fine one day and the next… Total emotional disaster.

When I launched this website, one of my key objectives was to educate patients and caregivers about this mismanaged condition which impacts 30% to 75% of patients.

Recently, the American Heart Association (AHA) released some interesting details about heart disease and depression that I thought you might find interesting.

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I just received a concerned email from Sean about nerve damage after heart surgery. I provided some thoughts for Sean below, but I’m curious to know if you experienced this heart surgery complication. Here is Sean’s story:

Hi, Adam!

I’m recovering from aortic valve and aortic root replacement surgery. It turned out my problems were congenital - a bicuspid aortic valve and a related aneurysm of the aortic root. My faulty valve and aneurysm waited patiently until I was 60-years old to need replacement! Nice of ‘em, huh?!

I am hoping you and your readers can provide some useful information, either scientific or anecdotal. I woke up in the ICU to notice that the left side of my left hand was “asleep” – you know, how your foot might “go to sleep” if you positioned your leg improperly for too long.

The condition has not changed in the 6 weeks since my surgery. My hand is still “asleep”, and it is thus both numb and hyper-sensitive to touch. My surgeon says it is damage to the ulnar nerve caused by compression of the nerves in my chest during surgery. The surgeon says that my hand should return to normal as the nerve regenerates over a few, perhaps six, months. I’d love to believe that, but I’m worried.

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Yes.

That is my answer to Sally’s question, “Did you lose weight after heart surgery?”

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Here’s an inspiring email from Melissa, a recovering patient from Sydney, Australia. With her approval, I thought you might like to read it:

Hi Adam,

I’m emailing from Australia, I’m 34 and I had my open heart surgery 4 months ago (on 14 April to be exact).

I had a quirky congenital condition that needed to be fixed - the membrane just under my aortic valve was not functioning properly. Plus, my aortic valve is bicuspid and a bit leaky. But, the major concern was the membrane. My cardiologist and surgeon - Doctor Alan Farnsworth, St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney – decided to wait on the aortic valve replacement for now.

My surgery was a complete success. Doctor Farnsworth was able to completely peel the membrane away. Although it wasn’t an actual, structural repair or replacement, the doctors still termed my surgery as “valve replacement” - even though it was a bit different.

As for the recovery, I only had a few weeks off work. Then, I worked from home because I could not drive after my heart surgery. I give ALOT of credit to the fantastic team involved in carrying out the surgery (surgeon, anesthesiologist, perfusionist, nurses, etc.) and all the hospital staff in the intensive care unit and cardiac ward. They all took great care of me.

However, I was a bit surprised by the amount of shoulder and neck pain I experienced after the surgery. I am still really sore in my neck and around my collar bone area. I’ll discuss that with my cardiologist next week when I have my next echocardiogram and check-up. I think I really need a massage!

Needless to say, I am so immensely proud of myself for getting through all this. You can have the greatest medical teams and support group, but I believe it still comes down to the individual and the attitude you have specific to the operation and the recovery.

I too wanted to let you know how grateful I was/am for your website.

Kindest regards,

Melissa Johnston

As I remember all too well, once diagnosed with “needing heart valve surgery”, a series of foreign questions flood the patient’s brain. Those questions range from “What type of procedure should I chose?” to “Which surgeon should I go to?” to “Should I write or re-write my will?”

While these pre-surgery questions are acute, the post-operative questions can be incredibly vague as the patient proceeds through heart surgery recovery. As you will read below, Jesser just emailed me an insightful question about the recovery time for heart surgery.

Jesser writes, “Adam - Five months ago I had a pulmonary valve replacement surgery. My question is - How long did it really take you to completely feel like your old self again? Because, when I SNEEZE my chest throbs, my scar bugs me, and I can not move my arms that much because they still hurt. Thanks, Jesser.”

This question, “How long is the recovery from heart surgery?”, is very appropriate. In fact, when I first read Jesser’s email, I smirked a bit as I remembered the pain of my first sneeze after aortic valve replacement surgery. I also remembered the incision discomfort from my broken sternum. And, I remembered the annoying pain in my collarbone.

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