Comments on: “Dizzy After Heart Valve Surgery?” Asks Rick

By: Irene

Irene — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:23:11 +0000

Diane, THANK YOU for your response. I haven’t gotten the dizzi spells everyone is talking about, my problem still is the fatigue, tiredness etc. I’ve been doing Yoga (gentle) for the past year and it really has helped. Hey, we’re still here and like you said, “still ticking” LOL – alot of people wish they could say that!!! Thank You again for a quick pick-me-up!!

By: Diane Horsak

Diane Horsak — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:16:23 +0000

March will make 4 yrs. since my bovine valve was put in. I still get dizzy spells. I coded and had it twice they think it was due to being put under twice for so long. I’m sorry to say a lot has changed for me since the surgery. The very best to you and I am very happy you are doing well. Still ticking, Diane

By: Irene

Irene — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:08:22 +0000

I had a bovine heart valve replacement in 2006 and felt wonderful. That lasted a few years and then I have started to feel tiredness. I’m not at the point I started out before my operation and hope never to get there, but I was wondering how everyone out there feels after 5 years with any heart valve replacement. All my tests come out good, just wondering how others feel. Thank you for all your help.

By: Ben B

Ben B — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 23:11:41 +0000

In the third week of recovery (my first week at home) I woke up and felt very dizzy and fainted. This continued throughout the day until my parents got home and i was taken to a and e. It was found that i was suffering from a common post heart op complaint, atrial fibrillation. I was put on multiple beta-blockers and after they all failed to help I was defibrillated and the condition was fixed. For more info just google ‘atrial fibrillation’.

By: Pete Hanauer

Pete Hanauer — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:25:46 +0000

I experienced a lot of dizzyness after mitral valve repair surgery in Sept. 2010 and my cardiologist sent me to a neurologist. After some tests that did not show anything, he prescribed Fludrocortisone, which raises my blood pressure. As he explained it, my brain had been used to a certain blood pressure for 70 years and then when the surgery drastically lowered the pressure, the brain couldn’t handle it. The medication helped almost immediately, and although I still experience lightheadedness occassionally, the worst of the dizzyness is gone.

By: Keith Hendrickson

Keith Hendrickson — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:43:22 +0000

Had mitral valve repair in 2010. Spent approx 260 minutes on by-pass. Post surgery was doing great w/walking 1-2 miles within 2 weeks. Dizzyness started creeping in within a couple of months. Now there are days I feel dizzy for 8-10 hrs a day. Also have episodes of double vision that last from 10 secs to 60 seconds. Occurs every couple of weeks to once a month. Also started having occular migranes. Don’t know if this is related to lower blood preasure due to Toprol XL or is related to the lengthy surgery. Had high blood pressure before surgery – now around 60/110

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:59:20 +0000

I had mitral valve repair surgery last April and I had my first dizzy spell about 3 months post surgery. I was not sure if it had anything to do with the surgery or not, but since I didn’t have such spells before, I couldn’t help but think there was connection. After it happened a second time, my cardiologist had me wear a monitor for 4 weeks to see if there were any detectable changes in my heartbeat when I had one of the spells. Of course, nothing happened while I had the monitor. I still get the spells from time to time and I had one today while I was driving. I didn’t think my spells had anything to do with a change in position and the spell today definitely did not involve a change in position. The feeling I experience is similar to vertigo. The weird thing is that the spells are rather infrequent so I don’t know if there is a condition that can be identified to explain them. I plan to call my primary care physician and get some advice about what to do next.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 01:18:56 +0000

To the OTR truck driver: My husband had an AVR (mechanical) and underwent most of your symptoms about many weeks after surgery. He ended up back in the hospital per ambulance because as we were told by EMT “his blood pressure bottomed out”. He was having severe dizziness, severe sweating and nausea at anytime whether standing or sitting, doing nothing or something. He put up with this for sometime and then the worst episode I called 911 as he was “out of it”. This is when they came and took him to ER via ambulance and said his bp bottomed out. He was taken off the Metropolol and the Lisinopril (at our insistance) and was fine sometime after this. When his heart was not working right he needed extra medicine to keep the blood going cut with the new mechanical valve it was working superbly. He has since been doing great! Good luck to you, it is a miserable road but then it does get better.

By: John Micsak

John Micsak — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:40:18 +0000

YES,

I am 4 weeks into my recovery and still experience a lot of dizziness, but it is like you explain. Generally when I get up from sitting or laying around I feel light headed and off balance. This happens several times a day for me. I am assuming it is from the one or more of the 7 meds I am on. I have my appt. with my cardiologist for the first time tomorrow after my surgery, hopefully he will clear this up. I also ruminate about something being wrong, I get a lot of different sensations from throbbing pain to my heart feeling pressured or pinched. Other times I don’t notice it. I also wake up in the middle of the night a lot gasping for air.

Thanks John

By: greg

greg — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:52:38 +0000

I had a mechanical aortic valve replacement March 2, 2011, went through a 3 month recovery period, then returned to work as an over-the-road driver. 6 weeks later I had to give up driving due to the extreme dizziness, tinnitus, and sudden drops in blood pressure.
This has left me unable to safely perform most types of work, with trying to qualify for disability as my only choice.
I take coumadin, metoprolol, pepcid, flomax, aspirin, and lisinipril.

I believe it to be caused by meds; anyone ever heard of this??