Jim's Guestbook

I'm just a couple months short of 83 and intensely interested in what you're going through. Keep up the information stream. Mary and I travel to SFO tomorrow for the first consultation on a Mitral Valve repair. I just can not get the notion of a "valve job" out of my head. Not many people do such things on their cars these days and wont make the humorous connection. How much detailed reading and research on this condition did you do after the first word that you needed open heart work? Hang in there man. These young people have had the benefit of the finest training and best equipment/facilities in the world.

Hi Jim, Today is my two year anniversary of Open Heart surgery. I also had mitral valve prolapse and afib. then I also got a leaky tricuspid and at that time the doctor told me to get surgery while they could still help me. So I went to Mt. Sinai on my cardiologist's recommendation and had open heart surgery to repair the valves and the MAZE procedure for the afib. It was so not bad! Much better than I imagined. Pain was minimal, I only needed pain pills for about three days after I went home. I bought two things that I could not have done without. One was a remote control recliner by lazy boy and the other was a hand claw so I could get things without bending. I slept in the recliner for two weeks since it did hurt when I got in bed and the claw gave me my independence- I could just pick up things myself. Wish I had the claw in the hospital. Recovery was not hard. I scared myself so much about getting pneumonia and that took a lot of my energy. I was not faithful doing the breathing with that plastic inhaler and thought I gave myself pneumonia. I felt so guilty but I never got pneumonia. I did take a while to absorb the fluid around my lungs which is common after surgery and I thought it was pneumonia. The walking is hard at first but in about 7 days when you get your confidence back it gets really easy and fun because you can't believe you are doing it. Really two years later I feel better than before the surgery for sure. Good luck to you and on this side as I look back it was almost fun!!!

Welcome, Jim! I have similar issues, without the VTAC. In my case, the cardioversion was successful, but I can not take Beta Blocker and the ACE Inhibitor at its lowest dose already has me at my normal HR -- as low as 42 at times. So no med fall-back. I have just been scheduled for Mitral repair and MAZE procedure to take place 10 July. If you have time, feel free to review my journal posts - all the history and why we are going into surgery is there. Michael Culpepper

Hi Jim, this is the right place to get the right information about open heart surgery. We are all about to have it or have had it. I am in recovery mode. I had my aortic valve replaced 4/29/14 I am 73 and managed it and so will you do keep us posted.