I just received an email from Roger, a recent Ross Procedure patient and reader of my book. Roger raises some interesting points, so I thought I would include this as an email bag blog. Roger’s comments and questions are:

I am now 20 weeks post op and I just had my annual physical today with my family dr. BP 116/70, heart rate in the 70s, blood work good so that all seems reassuring. I am back to running about 3.5 miles at a 10 min pace. Per your suggestions, I have been monitoring my heart rate while running and trying to keep that in the 150 range.

It seems like I improve slowly but steadily. The doctor did say that I have a heart murmur which he said is perhaps normal after this type of surgery but he has never seen a Ross patient, so I was curious if you have a murmur or if you know whether that is a normal situation.

I remember one time you mentioned to me that you still listen to your heart so I figured you would know. Your feedback is appreciated as I am obviously still very paranoid that something is going to go wrong. I feel like I am about 85% back to “normal” feeling. How long does it take to feel completely recovered?

My Response To Roger…

Let me start with a virtual “high-five”! It must feel great to be running again. And, it seems, given your age and recent heart surgery, your system is definitely healing and responding to your desire to recover from your Ross Procedure operation.

From prior emails, I know you can go into the “Something Is Wrong Here!” mode, right? But, let me assure… If something was wrong, I highly doubt your cardiologist or surgeon would encourage you to walk 3.5 miles, let alone, run 3.5 miles.

That said, I know what it is like to be paranoid by the “What’s Wrong Here?” mentality that dominates patient’s brains during the recovery. FYI, it’s been 21 months since my Ross Procedure and I still sometimes think “something is wrong” with my heart.

As for the heart murmur you mention above, I too had a tiny murmur following my aortic and pulmonary valve replacements.

From what my cardiologist told me, that is common. If I remember right, Dr. Rosin told me that the tiny murmur may be caused by sutures around the new heart valve. Interesting though. My murmur has since gone away. Maybe that will happen to you as well.

Regarding your final question, “How long does it take to fully recover from open heart surgery?”

That is a toughie. I would encourage you to go back and re-read the beginning of Part IV of my book. The process of healing is very personal. In a recent survey I just completed, some patients feel fully recovered after eight weeks. Some patients feel fully recovered after sixteen weeks.

Me? I didn’t feel fully recovered until I entered the Pacific Ocean with my surfboard. That was 435 days after surgery!!! For me, that was the moment that I considered my recovery complete! If you would like to read about that moment, I memorialized it in this blog about surfing after heart valve surgery.

One more point, I felt even more recovered when I Scuba dived during my honeymoon in Fiji a few weeks ago.

That said, you may want to create some form of milestone to help you during this process. If you were to complete one physical activity that would signify your recovery completion, what would it be????

Let me know. I would love to support and encourage you.

Keep on tickin!

Earlier today, I received a question that reads, “Do you have a cat scan of the aorta? How are cat scan aorta images used during diagnosis?”

I’m not sure I completely understand this questions. But, it turns out that I just found a cat scan image of the aorta. But first, I thought we all might want to know a learn a little more about what a cat scan is and how cat scans are used relative to heart valve surgery. As Radiology Info notes, CT scanning—sometimes called CAT scanning—is a noninvasive, painless medical test that helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions.

CT imaging uses special x-ray equipment to produce multiple images or pictures of the inside of the body and a computer to join them together in cross-sectional views of the area being studied. The images can then be examined on a computer monitor or printed. CT scans of internal organs, bone, soft tissue and blood vessels provide greater clarity than conventional x-ray exams.

Using specialized equipment and expertise to create and interpret CT scans of the body, radiologists can more easily diagnose problems such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, infectious disease, trauma and musculoskeletal disorders.

Here is a cat scan picture of the aorta:

According to Radiology Cases In Peditric Emergency Medicine, the cat scan aorta image above is from a 15 year-old male who is complaining of chest pain. The CT scan demonstrates a small, left-sided pneumothorax. The arrow (above) points to the air space within the pleural space. That said, the aorta is normal.

Wow. That was way over my head!

Regardless, I hope this helps you better understand what a cat scan of the aorta looks like.

Keep on tickin!

Yes. It’s true.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had a very serious heart disease condition.

I say “had” because Schwarzenegger’s heart problem has since been fixed.

Although there are many rumors that the Governator’s heart disease condition was caused from steriod use, reports actually suggest that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s heart disease condition was congential.

Arnold Schwarzenegger And Dr. Vaughn Starnes
Celebrate The Governator’s 10 Year Heart Surgery
Anniversary at USC Medical Center

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I just received an email that asks, “What do valves in the heart do?”

Considering the complexity of the body and your heart, it’s a great question.

Often times I find that answering this question helps both heart valve surgery patients and caregivers.

The answer to the question, “What do heart valves do?”, is actually pretty simple. The four valves in your heart – mitral valve, aortic valve, tricuspid valve and pulmonary valve – are used to control the flow of blood through your heart.

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Every once and a while I get stumped. I mean really stumped! Well. Today is one of those days.

I just received an email that I will do my best to answer. However, if you have anything to add, feel free to provide some insight in the comments section of this blog.

The question reads, “What is mitral valve buckling?”

This is the first time I ever heard of mitral valve buckling. So, I did a little research. It appears that mitral valve buckling appears to be directly associated with mitral valve prolapse.

As you can read in this discussion, mitral valve prolapse results when one of the heart valve flaps (also known as a leaflet) moves back into the atrium when the heart beats. This prolapse can let blood flow from the ventricle back into the atrium as shown in the anatomy of the heart.

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