“How Long Will My Dad’s Pumphead Last After Heart Valve Surgery?” Asks Rob
I just received a follow-up question from Rob about pumphead and memory loss after heart surgery that you might find interesting.
Rob writes, “Hi Adam - I have a quick question. My dad just had open heart surgery two days ago to repair his mitral valve (it was a 4+ for regurgitation). He also has had previous issues with atrial fib. Today, he was having some issues remembering particular words/phrases. This concerns the nurses and us because of the possibility of brain issues after surgeries like these. I have a doctor-friend who says some of this is normal based on all the drugs he is on and the use of the heart-lung machine. Did you experience any of the brain and thought issues with your surgery? Do you have any insight on that? Thanks so much, Rob”
Although I did not have any direct cognitive problems following heart surgery, I have written about this post-operative complication on several occasions.
To help Rob, I offered him a link to a recent blog about pumphead and memory loss after bypass surgery.
After reviewing that page, Rob had one more question. He wrote back to me, “One thing not covered in your pumphead discussion is how long the ailment lasts? Any thoughts? Obviously, everyone is anxious to get the patient “back to his normal self”, but we all forget how long the process can truly take. So I hope we’re not just jumping the gun on all this.”
Again, Rob raises another great question. Unfortunately, I have not read many clinical studies about the length of time for which “pumphead” may exist as a post-operative complication for bypass patients. However, in 2001, researchers at Duke University conducted a study of 261 patients which was published in The New England Medical Journal.
Following bypass surgery, the patients were tested for their cognitive capacity (i.e. mental ability) at four different times: before surgery, six weeks, six months, and five years after bypass surgery. Patients were deemed to have significant impairment if they had a 20% decrease in test scores.
This study had four major findings:
- Cognitive impairment can occur after bypass surgery.
- The incidence of cognitive impairment was greater than most doctors would have predicted. In this study, 42% of patients had at least a 20% drop in test scores after surgery.
- The mental impairment was not due to the patients’ age (which averaged 61).
- The impairment was not temporary, as many doctors have claimed (or at least hoped). The decrease in cognitive capacity persisted for 5 years in some patients.
The results from the Duke study were compared to results from a similar study among patients of the same age who did not have bypass surgery, according to Richard N. Fogoros, M.D. The decline in mental capacity in those patients who had bypass surgery was 2-to-3 times higher over five years than in patients who did not have surgery.
The Heart Lung Machine
In review of this study, a sense of alarm may come over you. Please note, this study was performed eight years ago and there has been some debate over whether (or not) the heart-lung machine is the source of cognitive decline following bypass surgery.
Regardless… This is one more reason why you really need to conduct proper diligence and research prior to surgery. In my humble opinion, this potential risk is why so many patients search for the most skilled surgeons to perform their heart valve surgeries… to minimize their time on the “pump”.
Did you experience any form of cognitive issues after bypass surgery? If so, what was your experience? Please click here to leave your comments. In advance, thanks for any thoughts or ideas that you can offer Rob and the rest of us reading this blog!
Keep on tickin!
About The Author: Adam Pick is a double, heart valve surgery patient and author of The Patient’s Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. This unique book integrates the clinical facts of heart valve surgery with the personal experiences of 78 former valve surgery patients to help patients and caregivers better understand the problems, the opportunities and the realities of heart valve surgery. To learn more about Adam and his heart valve surgery book, click here.
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August 4th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
Yes, I definitely experienced pumphead. I’m 67 and had an aortic valve replaced in Feb. ‘09…puts me at just about six months. Somewhere I have records of the length of time I was on the bypass machine and will look it up later. First, I have no memory from the time I left the post-op area on Friday AM until sometime on Monday afternoon. At first I was freaked about having lost 3 days of my life but then realized I did not have to experience the throat tube, all the wires, etc. that come with the first few hours after surgery. That’s a plus!
When I finally did come around, I was in the step-down stage and in my room with my roommate, which I though was great because we were able to talk back and forth about what we were feeling, questions that neither of us could answer, etc. So I’m one of those people who enjoyed having a roommate. Anyway, I also had some wild hallucinations during those first three days, but they passed pretty quickly; however, they were definitely frightening at times.
Back to pumphead…my roommate and I laughed our heads off alot of times because we would be talking and just couldn’t find the word we wanted to use. It’s very frustrating until we realized we were both experiencing it and began to see the humor in it. We said alot of, “oh, you know what I means”. Nurses blamed alot of it on the amount of drugs in our system from surgery and those that are continued to be added after surgery.
It has lessened alot over time and I don’t notice it much by this time except in spelling. I have been an excellent speller all my life and now find I must use a dictionary more often to make sure my spelling is correct. However, we own our own small manufacturing business and I have had no trouble getting back into running it, phones, employees, etc. But, yes, there are still some minor affects.
I wouldn’t worry about him at this point and just make it a fun thing…that’s what helped me the most. At this point your body has gone thru so much trauma that I can say, as a patient, I was a whole lot more concerned about my body than my mind. It may take months and months for him to come back to what you feel is adequate, but just give him the time and help he needs. My husband still has to correct me often because we have a “Ram” truck and a van and I am constantly saying one when I mean the other.
Just be happy he’s going to be with you alot longer because of this surgery.
Midge
August 5th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Hi Rob. I agree with a lot of what Midge wrote. For me, it took at least 6 months till I felt that my brain was not foggy.
)
I think it’s a question of time. As the body heals, I’d figure the mind is healing too. ( What did I just write??…Only kidding!
Good luck and hope your dad is feeling better and better every day!
Laura
August 5th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
I had a mitral valve repair in December 20008. I was a little confused for a few days, but that quickly cleared up. However, it took until May to feel like my head and body were connected. It seemed like one day I felt very spacey and the next day it was all gone. I haven’t had any problems since and it is now 7 months post surgery. I wish your dad well and hopefully after a period of time he will be back to himself. Debbie Berman
August 5th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
I am now 11 months post-op. I saw my cardiologist yesterday and told him I’m disappointed that I still have some pump-head effects. He was not surprised and said “pump head is real”. The effects have very gradually lessened over these 11 months. It’s just a nuisance - and an embarrassment when I can’t remember an acquaintance’s name. (Names - of people and objects - are my main problem; of course, I wasn’t so good with names before surgery, either!) Mine is pretty mild - not bad enough to prevent me from earning A’s in a new undergraduate program I’ve started at a local university - at age 61. My cardiologist mentioned something about “off-pump procedures”, so that may be something to investigate for anyone anticipating surgery. I don’t know anything about it, and it may not even be possible for valve replacement surgery - but something to look into.
August 5th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Yes, I do have some issues remembering particular words/phrases, forgetting directions I knew very well before, going to wrong conf. rooms for meetings, using wrong names for people, etc. I don’t know how much it was related to headpump
machine, but I also had two mini strokes one about 10 days after the mitral valve replacement surgery, the other one 4+ months after the surgery.
Kemal
August 5th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
Am a 69 year old retired chemical engineer who had aorta (tissue) valve replaced, 3 by passes, double ablation in January ‘09 which meant a longer time on the machine - and I was very concerned about pump head. Had very severe complications (congestive heart failure resulting in acute renal failure) after returning home from the surgery - back to hopital for 16 days, but no problem whatsoever with depression or brain function. I am fully recovered and feel great after finishing rehab (more energy than I had 20 years ago!)
August 5th, 2009 at 8:01 pm
I had my aortic vavle replaced 2/25/09. I did not experience pumphead, but when my wife gets on me about not remebering what she told me… I blame it on pumphead… the secret is out!
August 6th, 2009 at 1:36 am
All,
Thanks for sharing!
To Richard,
:)
Thanks for sharing your secret.
Adam
August 6th, 2009 at 7:00 am
I also had pumphead. I am close to my anniversary Sept. 10 and occasionally I will have trouble remembering things or will be talking and lose my train of thought. But it is a great deal better than when I first had the surgery. I had aorta replacement as well as aortic valve repair, I was one bypass for a long time, plus had all brain function stopped to replace the arch. I knew going into it that doing all of that would have to affect me in some way. The alternative was that I would not be here… The way I looked at it is that a little mental issues compared to the alternative ……. I will take the mental issues every day. They did put me on Plavix and that did help. All I know is that I am happy to be here and feel like I have been given a second chance at life!
August 6th, 2009 at 7:17 am
My husband had aortic valve replacement last september. I think he still has some pumphead. He will occasionally ask the same question several times. We call him pumphead when he does this.
August 6th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
I agree with Richard….pumphead is a great excuse (as long as you don’t use it too often). Also agree with Charlene, a little forgotten memory is a small price to pay for a continuing and more productive life. The greatest way to deal with it is to laugh about it, make jokes about it with those around you and warn people that need to know that it can happen so if they think you said something wrong, they should question you about it. Once I was able to go back to work and was supervising a number of employees directly, I told them all that it probably would occur from time to time, there was nothing I could do about it and to ask questions if something I said didn’t ring true. It works and keeps things going in the right direction. The same could be said for the family units we all live within.
Enjoy! Midge
August 9th, 2009 at 10:44 pm
I am 10 months post aortic valve replacement. I felt completly unable to focus concentration on reading, conversation or thought for several weeks after surgery. I also had some “down days “for a few weeks after surgery. All seemed fine after 7 or 8 weeks. I was 56 years old at the timeof my valve replacement. I am sure as with all aspects of surery, age plays a factor in the speed of recovery.
August 11th, 2009 at 12:55 am
Hello All:
I spent eleven days at the Brigham and Woman’s Hospital in Boston in March, 2008. I was on the operating table for five and one half hours for tricuspid and mitral valve repair, a single bypass utilizing a chest graft and a maze procedure to reroute the electrical impulses in my sinue node. I suffered terribly from atrial fibrilation both before and after the surgery.
I’m sixty-one years old and always had a good memory. Since the surgery I have noticed short term memory loss, mostly instant recall of words or phrases from time to time. Also, a serious inability to concentrate for about six weeks after my surgery. I intentionally purchased about five books and planned to read them while on a two month leave of absence from work. I read none. Also, I went through a severe bout of depression which last for a little over a month. The pumphead effects are dissipating, but very, very, slowly. Also, my sternum separation is healing, but also very slowly. My chest binds, there is pain, and there is constant numbness.
The comment made by a previous comment poster about a cut peritoniutm is true. My heart still pounds and pops even after a cardioversion treatment returned my to normal sinus rhythum.
August 12th, 2009 at 12:07 am
I had mitral valve replacement 14 months ago. I spent a month in ICU during which time the valve failed completly. I have short term memory loss still today. I also suffered a mini stroke on the table or after that effected my left arm and leg. Leg and arm work fine today.
I have to write down all important messages right away otherwise there is a good chance that I will forget the message. The main thing that I have found is that all family and friends have been told not to give me messages to pass along. It is working very well. I just take it all in and just very thankful to still be here today. I hope that helps a little.
August 14th, 2009 at 8:15 am
I had aortic valve replacement in 2003. After my surgery I felt better than I had in years. Stronger physically with more endurance. But had problems with my memory and cognitive skills for about a year after the surgery. Now 6 years after the surgery, my mental skills are becoming worse. I cannot keep things in order, especially papers. I have short term memory loss, and cloudy thinking. I am in risk of losing my job as a nurse. I especially have problems with the computer. Can’t remember what I did or did not chart on the computer.
Marianne
August 14th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Marianne, I am also a nurse and only a few months out from my mitral valve surgery. I had worked in the ER and found I could not physically or mentally handle it when I returned and transferred to a case management position. The nice thing about nursing is that there are a lot of different opportunities. As much as I miss the ER, I am still glad to be employed. I wish you luck.
August 17th, 2009 at 8:53 am
I wish I knew about this book pre-op. I am now 16 months post-op after I had my Mitral Valve repaired. I was 32 when I had the surgery. I can not remember feeling “phased out” or “pumphead” - maybe I am to young for it
dunno
I had a lot of pain and lived on sleeping pills and meds for a while and was off-work for 4 months… maybe that helped?