“Do You Lose Weight After Heart Surgery?” Asks Sally

hi. Adam

i lost 3kg after the op but i am back to my normal weight i would have prefered to keep it off , although everyone said I looked grey for sometime i think it was a month before my normal colour come back.

take care

Hi Fazilat,

Interesting you mention your skin color after heart surgery…

So you know, I went INCREDIBLY PALE after my operation.

After two weeks of looking like a ghost, I went back to my cardiologist to make sure I was doing alright. It turned out that I was anemic. Doctor Rosin made me go out and buy a pound of chopped liver to get some iron back in my system.

After one week (and two more pounds of chopped liver), the anemia went away and some of my weight came back.

Keep on tickin!

Adam

Hi Adam: In answer to the question of losing weight, my circumstances were a bit different/ After my aortic valve replacement, and when being able to eat again, I was ravenous. My appetitie was high and I seemed to always be famished. For some strange reason, one would think one would gain weight when eating everything in site (in spite of the awful hospital food) but I did not gain weight either. To me this was a very strange feeling.
Thanks for all your good work on valve replacements.
M. Pugh

I had double bi pass two weeks ago. I am a 49 year old male, 5′ 6” and 165lbs prior to surgery. Today I weigh 150 and seem to keep loosing a little each day. My doctor tells me this is ok, but its important to watch your weight everyday after surgery. A gain of over 3-5 pounds a day could indicate fluid retention and result in congestive heart failure if not attended too. I wasn’t eating much after surgery. It took me being home for a day to get back any decent appetite. I came home 3 1/2 days after. I am now eating everything they tell you too. No red meats, limited white meat, lots of vegis and fruit along with high fiber whole grain breads/cereals. I do love salmon and as always, continue to eat it. I am hoping to be able to keep the weight off. Find myself reading labels more and keeping within the guide lines.

Had aortic valve replacement 3 weeks ago. Lost 10 lbs. the first 2 weeks post-op. Feeling good, off pain meds for 1 1/2 weeks now, but appetite still isn’t back. Adam- your book was very helpful! Thank you!

Hi Adam:
I am 41 and have had sudden fluid retention for about 8 months now. I have gone from 178 to 220. I had Rheumatic Fever when I was a child and I was just diagnosed with Mitral Valve Stenosis. Have cardiology consult Jan 7th, 2009. I am taking Lasix 80mg and Spiralactadone 50 mg every day. If I have to have the open heart version of replacement, how long will I be down and out? I am a nurse and we are the worst patients!
Thanks
Susan

My husband was up 14 lbs the day after surgery. After some lasix he lost the 14 and about 10 more over the next week or so. It took awhile for his appetite to return. Everything he ate tasted bland to him. Once he got off the pain meds everything changed for the better including his appetite

I have had a heart cath. They found 3+ mitral regur. Next week I have the stess echo. My symptoms are pretty bad. I have gained over 20 lbs. I am on a lasix. I feel like a really fat pig. Is the weight gain normal with leaky valves? I would love to hear from any one that has or is going through this. My ankles are not swelling. I have gained around the stomach and upper body. Thanks!

i had open heart four months ago and since i have been walking, going to the gym three times a week. i have put on seven klg and i am finding it hard to lose weight but i feel really good.

My dad had aortic valve replacement at the end of april, he has lost a total of 69 lbs since he’s been out of the hospital. He has no taste still and he can’t eat or he throws up. He can only drink liquids. He can’t take most of his meds because he throws them up or gags. The doctors act like everything is ok. It seems a little strange to me. He is miserable and really weak. Does anyone know what could cause this?

I had my aortic valve replaced the end of March with a mechanical valve. I lost weight after I got home due to the medication I took but now I just keep gaining weight. People at rehab say it probably is muscle but I weigh more now than I ever did. I’m getting my energy back but I would think with the workouts I have at rehab I should be losing. I don’t eat any differently but seem to gain. Also having the mechanical and going on coumaden for the rest of your life is not that big of a problem if people are trying to decide the difference. It’s better than worrying about maybe having this done again in 15-20 years. I also had graphing put around my aorta since it was enlarging.

Hi Adam,

I had a peridectomy 3weeks ago. Have been home for 1 week and still loosing weight. Down to 71.5 kg from 73.5 kg in hospital. Lost .5 kg in last 3 days. Am eating well ( wife says ..more like a horse) but not making any difference.

Regards, George
PS Was originally 86.5 kg.

I have in the past seven years had 32 caths, seven stebts one subclaveal the rest cardiac, a triple bypass and a stroke. I lost weight right after the bypass bur have recebtly had a lot of difficulty I feel desparate to lose weight.. excersiceing is very hard. the rehab people won’t help with weight loss. but I feel like if I don’t lose I will be wasting my surgery. Can anybody help. I don’t feel fixed emotionally I feel ;ike a inferior pumbing job

I have noticed since my heart valve surgury I lost quite a bit of weight. Before surgury I weighed around 198 lbs. this was Dec 15th 2009. Todays date is March 26th 2010 and I weigh 174 lbs. What is that all about. I have had to buy new clothes. I went from a 36in. waist to 33in. waist. Friends and family are like man you need to gain some weight. I been putting the junk food away for a few months now and no weight gain. I do have a lot more energy than I have ever had in a while. I stay very active all day. Do I have a Tape worm? lol Can I do Protein drinks or something?

Hi adam. My father had an aortic valve replacement about 3 weeks ago, he has a tissue valve from a cow. He has been losing weight. Im not sure how much he weighed before but he weighs 119 now. He lost 5 pounds over the weekend. He has gotten his color back but he hasnt gotten his appetite back yet. He looks so frail and weak. He cant sleep at night. If you have any suggestions i would be very happy to hear But i keep telling him the main thing is that your valve is fixed. They said he had the worst case they had ever seen.

My mom had heart valve replaced in January 2010 and still has no taste. Is this permenant? She’s lost alot of weight since it’s no fun to eat. Why does this happen?

I am only 10 days post op, and I have already gained 6 lbs since my surgery last week. I am curious of the age and the patients that lose and gain weight.
I had read and was warned that most patients drop 15 to 20 pounds after surgery, but I also understand that lost of patients who have heart surgey are older than I am. I am 35 and had a coronary artery defect that I was boen with and had just been discoved this year.

Hi Adam, just found this website some 3 1/2 months after surgery! Had mitral Valve repair at Royal Brompton in London under Neil Moat. Was 16 stone when I first collapsed in Aug 2009. By the time I had surgery in March 2010 I was 18 stone 9 lbs. This seemed to due to some water retention but mostly extreme inactivity, I could barely walk 10 meters at the end, and only with a stick and VERY slowly! Im 50 and turned in to a 75 year old!
Initially down to 17 stone after 6-8 weeks but now at week 15 Im up to 18 stone again!?? The weights not so much of a problem when your hearts working properly mind, but would like to get back to 16 or below soon. I too was very pale and aneamic following surgery.
I think the wieght gain / loss depends greatly upon symptoms and condition. Any condition that incapacitates to a greater or lesser extent will probably cause weight gain. All you have to do is get fit, and get active after the op and theres no reason why you cant get fitter than you were before any symptoms started!

I to had a new mechanical heart valve put in I am sorry to say I cant lose weight at all and I have gainned soooo..much weight I cant stand it. I have had a lot of complications and have been in and out of the hospiatal 5 or 6 times. I am so upset with myself I can now exercise so I swim, use treadmill at least a mile or two a day and do the abb circle . This is done at least four to five times a week the only thing that I used to do before my surgery was smoke and I am sorry I will never start that habit again…. Maybe with determination eventually I will win the fight against the weight and maybe I wont have to keep having so many surgerys I have had enough to last a life time…

I had my aortic valve replaced on Sept. 2, 2010. I have lost 22 pounds since then.
I have to force myself to eat. I am nausea a lot of the time.

My husband is 65 has never smoked or drank alcohol, kept his weigh low and was fairly active, appeared in very good health but almost 7 weeks ago he had a heart attack then angioplasty a few hours later, 6 bypasses the next day. Before he came out of recovery they had to take him back into surgery and open him up a second time because of excess bleeding. According to echo cardiographs and doctor’s exams, from all of the trauma to his heart he seems to have recovered–except for nausea. It is present all day and night.We have tried Reglan, Zofran, everything the doctors recommend but he remains nauseous and can barely get a few bites down. He is 6’6″; prior to the heart attack he weighed 242. Now he is down to 213.Each day he gets a little less active because he has no strength.The surgeon told him for right now he could eat anything he wanted to build himself back up but nothing appeals to him.A month ago he passed out hitting his head on our kitchen island. I could not get him to come to so I called 911. He was taken back to the hospital. Tests did not reveal anything wrong so they sent him back home.A week and a half ago the surgeon put him back into the hospital and started IV. More tests were run. The only thing that showed up was H. Pylori in his stomach. Now he is on major antibiotics twice a day for 11 more days plus acidophiles. Still more nauseous. I am afraid to leave him for anytime to run to the store, etc. He does not want anyone to come visit because he is too sick to talk with them. Any ideas to stop the nausea?

i had a heart attack on 13/09/2009 and underwent angioplasty with two stents on 14/09/2009. Earlier my weight was 84kgs (before operation) and now it is down to 65kgs. This weight is being monitored continuosly and i am sticking to a lot of diet plan like having oats for breakfast, walking daily for 40mins non-stop, eating only non-oily food etc. Dr. has diagnosed 40% damage in the heart at the time of attack, but still the heart is working ok. Now my only problem is of fluid retention in the belly. Any amount of diet or taking tablets like lasix etc is not of much help. can you please guide me on this?

Regards,
Mohan

Had aortic valve replacement and a bypass 8 weeks ago. I’m 6’2″ tall, 76 yrs old. When I got out of the hospital I weighed about 208. I’m at 196 today. Took lasix for 7 days to reduce fluid retention, but that was 4 weeks ago. Appetite is not great – depends on what food my wife’s preparing. I used to like pizza. We got one. I could barely get 2 small slices down. I’m also getting some odd “gurgling” or rasping when I lay down or recline. That seems to be easing up. Scheduled for a follow-up sonogram tomorrow and a chest xray probably in a couple days. Other than feeling kind of tired I’m pretty much o.k. I can walk about 1 1/4 mile with no problem. I had bypass surgery in January ’95 and don’t recall having any of the above mentioned symptoms. But then, I was 16 years younger.

So there you have my experience with aortic valve surgery. We’re still seeing the cardiologist and surgeon but now only a month apart. Oh, forgot. I’m taking warfarin, 5 mg, once per day for 90 days, and a BP tab 50 mg, twice per day, for 90 days. Have vicodin as required, and a 81 gram aspirin.

I wonder if anyone else has these experiences and how affected by them?

Thanks

Hello Tom,
My husband had a heart attack and 6 by-passes almost 3 months ago. He was on similar medication as you and had nausea until a couple of weeks ago. He would not eat, said nothing sounded good to him either. He survived mostly on banana milk shakes and “Boost” even though he had lost 30 pounds and the doctors were saying at the time that he could eat anything to gain his weight back. Now that time has passed and I prepare healthy foods for him (baked, grilled, low sodium, low fat, etc.). He has only gained 5 pounds. He can eat as much of the healthy things he wants. His appetite has improved considerably. I think he is afraid to eat the wrong things because he never wants to go through another heart operation again. We live in a more rural area and it is more difficult to find the salt-free, low sodium, low fat foods he needs. I go to a larger city to shop. We walk 30 minutes daily and he is going to cardiac rehab three days a week, this has made a great deal of difference for him.
Sounds like you may be on your way to complete recovery. The “Boost” or “Ensure” can give you the vitamins you need until your tummy decides it is time to enjoy food again. Good luck and may God Bless you.

Thanks for the response and information. When I got out of the hospital I weighed about 206 or so. Weight fluctuated for a couple weeks between 206 and as high as 210. I think it must have been excess fluids because after a few weeks of nightly trips to the john – 2 – 3 times, the weight began to decrease as well as the nocturnal visits (I think the guy who invented those plastic bottles should get the Nobel Prize, BTW ).

I’m at about 197 now and seemingly stable. My appetite though, isn’t so great. I bought a 2 pound can of “Muscle Milk” – whey protein, with which I make a “fruit smoothie” most mornings. But lunch and supper? Not so hot. Unfortunately, my wife came down with a clot in her leg so I’ve been preparing meals (manly heroic stuff)that we both like but even still, the appetite isn’t so great.

I’m told that being an old goat has a lot to do with diminished appetite, and that the surgery often is a cause of food tasting different. So I’m marking that down as the cause of my recent “problem.”

I too, live in the boondocks – well, about 5 miles out of the nearest small town, 25 miles from the nearest relatively large town, in Central CA. So “health foods” – pre-packaged, aren’t available in large numbers. But, we are in the “Nation’s Food Basket” so there’s lots of fresh fruits and vegetables at various farmer’s markets.

Negative symptoms are waning except for a curious “rasping” or “gurgling” feeling in the chest when I lay down or recline. No pain and no uh, production of phlegm, just the “rattle.” The doc says other’s have mentioned the same thing. I see him in a couple days so we’ll investigate further. I’m guessing it has something to do with the rat poison (warfarin/coumadin) and metoprolol I’m taking.
Otherwise, no problems other than weakness. I played 9 holes of golf last week – oops! Tired after 5 holes.

I don’t recall if I mentioned I had bypass surgery January 18, 1995. That resulted in virtually no side effects. But, I’m about 16 years older now.

Thanks for the response. This is a great site for sharing experiences. Sorry for going on for so long.

My husband has had the mytro value replaced about four years ago, has had a pacemaker put in about a year ago. Things seems to be working the way the should with one problem. He has lost about 20 pounds and is down to 110 pounds and he is 5’7″ in height. We try everything from fating foods of all sorts. Taking Boost at least three times a day. Nothing seems to help him gain weight. His thyroid seems to be messed up. The T4 at times goes off the chart. I would just like to know what I can do to help him gain some weight. He is getting to too thin.

My dad had an aortic valve replacement and triple bypass 2 weeks ago. He is 54 and got the mechanical valve. They are having a tough time regulating his coumadin and he is having to go get his levels checked every 2 days. He has lost 25 pounds in the last 2 weeks and doesn’t want to eat at all. They also put him on a “NO Sodium” diet for the next 2 weeks (that has made for some interesting recipes). He is very pale and his eyes are sunken in. Is this normal? I am soooo worried about him and his weight loss. Does everyone experience this? He gets winded after just talking for a few minutes and needs to rest. When will he start to get his strength back?

Sounds like we all have some kind of problems after heart surgery.
I was a healthy 65 year old female, could work rings around younger people and had energy galore. Weighed about 132lbs,5’7”, when I hit the hospital for a quadruple bypass. Became anemic and had to have a transfusion of blood. Left hospital on 3 rd day for home re-hab.
Had to stop the dieuretics as bladder was going into spasms and stopped the metropropel also, due to being diagnosed with Raynauds disease. Am gaining weight 2 to 3 lbs a day and now am up to 175 lbs. HELP..No answer from Drs and my right leg swells all the time.They took the vein from my left leg. So what is up with all this? Any input?

Hi Adam,
Two years ago i.e on 13th aug 2009 I had a heart attack and was admitted to hospital. After ecg and angiogram they noticed a block and informed that surgery was immediately necessary.So the very next day I underwent angioplasty and was discharged from hospital after almost 25days.
After the surgery I have lost a lot of weight almost 22kgs. I was 84kgs prior to surgery and post operation I am now 62kgs – 63kgs. My problem is water retention in the stomach. I am very careful on diet and daily I walk for 45mins but slowly and also do yoga more of breathing excercise. How to control water retention and to gain a little weight. My doctor says my heart is damaged to the extent of 40%.I am on Lasix and ayurvdha treatment. Ofcourse I am much better now comparatively and can climb steps and steep roads etc. without grasping for breath. Kindly suggest ways to control water retention and to gain a little weight.

Regards,
Mohan

Began losing weight two weeks after heart surgery. Weight went steadily down from about 182 to my current 170 lbs,approximately two months after my heart valve replacement.
I urinate about 3-5 times nightly and my weight goes down with each urination.
No sign of diabetes and my physical rehab energy is strong, however my upper body looks like I’m a Buchanwald inmate.

Hello Adam,
Refer to your book all the time and feel validated..I have minor night sweats, lost about 13 lbs..and didn’t need to lose anyweight..76 and had three procedures..mitral valve repair, maize, and tricuspid repair..It is now post surgery two months and all of a sudden had collarbone pain and checked your book and was put at ease..great info and thank you for writing it. Just wish I felt more like I did and know I need to have patience…off most of the poisons and just on metoprolol, tired all the time and could sleep too much..50mg in the am and pm..hoping to take lower dose after seeing the doctor soon…good luck and speedy and complete recovery to all who have experienced open heart surgery..Meredith

i lost 60lbs after valve replacement surgery after 7weeks i am starting to gain it back note i started to eat alot of sweets ice cream,etc i guess to replace the beer i used to drink

its been 7 weeks since valve replacement surgery stoped taking pain meds and am now really feeling pain in my chest shoulders have hard time sleeping don,t eat that well.having trouble with getting the blood thinner under control ….REALLY WISH I HAD THE ANIMAL VALVE INSTEAD OF THE MECHANICAL ONE….

I lost about 20 pounds on purpose. Went from about 225 +/- to 199/200 and have kept it there for over a year. My second surgery was to replace the aortic valve (bovine) and a couple bypasses. No booze other than an occasional light beer after golf twice per week and usually not even that. I do like Jelly Belly beans though ;-(

I walk, play golf and generally stay active.

FYT, I didn’t have a choice of valve material. The surgeon used a bovine valve rather than pig or artificial because he thinks they’re more stable. BTW: He studied with DeBakey in Houston, worked at Mass General, L.A. Children’s and UCLA Med Center as well as a few others. Extremely well-qualified.

Had Bovine aortic valve replacement on April 27, 2012. Had passed out two time over a period of 18 months and upon returning home went for a decatherization and stayed in the hospital for surgery. The surgeon said it was the most calcified valve he had ever seen. I was out of the hospital in 2 1/2 days and am walking from 45 to 70 minutes a day. I do have continued discomfort in the chest that comes and goes depending upon activity, but mostly although I am walking a lot just do not feel that great and almost sick at times. My medicine was reduced from 50 to 25 MG twice as day and i think it makes me feel bad. I also take Flomax and between the two feel light headed when I stand for a few seconds. I had a terrible hematoma from the decatherization and my entire genital area was black and blue as well as my right leg down to my ankle. Just curious to know how others have recovered. I am worried about weight gain over the last two weeks. I have gained 6 lbs and feel bloated in the area where the tubing was inserted. Any thoughts?

I had triple bypass heart surgery 5 weeks ago. I have not regained my taste at all. Eveything tastes slimy and my tounge is a funny color. I have asked my dr but no answer but it will take time to get taste back. I have also developed my two thumbs can not bend.. could some one please respond.. I have no idea what to do. I am on a bp and colestril pill and a heart pill I have looked up the side effect but couldnt fins out any thing Thank you

My husband had left ventricle reconstruction surgery with 5 bypasses 5 weeks ago. Since then he has lost 42 lbs. I have a hard time getting him to eat, he says everything tastes like salt. The doctors just keep saying “you had a very big surgery”. I don’t like that answer, doesn’t make me feel any better. He has had two set backs since his surgery, the first was a gi bleed the day after I brought him home. The second, he passed out in the car when I was taking him to his doctors appointment, they said he had developed ortho static hypotension.