I just received a great question from Pete about elevated heart rates following heart valve surgery.

Pete writes, “Hi Adam, I had aortic valve replacement ^[1] on April 8, 2009, about two months ago. My main concern is that my heart rate is running quite high at 80 to 90 beats per minute. Before surgery, my heart rate was around 60. I contacted my cardiologist about this three times. Each time, they tell me this is one of the side effects from surgery and it should diminish over time. Quite frankly, I am concerned my heart is going to wear out. Any thoughts? Thanks, Pete”

Without a doubt, Pete raises a very valid concern of patients following cardiac surgery.

So you know, I experienced something very similar to Pete after my open heart surgery.

I have always had a high heart rate – about 80 beats per minute (bpm). However, after surgery, my resting heart rate was about 10 bpm higher. Sure enough, like Pete, I called and asked my doctor whether-or-not this was something to be concerned about.

Guess what? My cardiologist suggested that this was “normal”. Sure enough, my heart rate did normalize during my recovery.

In fact, I just located a reference on Medhelp which states, “It is not at all uncommon to have rapid heart rates after open heart surgery.  For example, atrial fibrillation ^[2] and atrial flutter are very common, as well.”

In some patient cases, however, I have learned that certain drugs (e.g. Metoprolol, Cordarone) may be used to help slow heart rates following surgery. That said, if you are experiencing high heart rates after surgery, I would encourage you to contact your cardiologist to confirm that your situation is not unique.

Remember… Always safe, not sorry!!!

Keep on tickin!

P.S. Do you have any thoughts about high heart rates after heart surgery? If so, please click here ^[3] to leave a comment for Pete!