{"id":71,"date":"2007-07-27T20:53:52","date_gmt":"2007-07-28T01:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2007\/07\/27\/scuba-diving-after-heart-valve-surgery\/"},"modified":"2025-06-09T19:29:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T00:29:39","slug":"scuba-diving-after-heart-valve-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2007\/07\/27\/scuba-diving-after-heart-valve-surgery\/","title":{"rendered":"In Fiji, I Go Scuba Diving After Heart Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

As most heart valve surgery patients will share with you, there is a certain amount of fear that appears during the recovery from open heart surgery. As an heart valve surgery patient, your sternum has been cracked<\/a> and your heart has been stitched….. OUCH!!!<\/p>\n

That said, most patients typically require a recovery period following heart valve surgery which is used to restore (i) mental confidence and (ii) physical capability of the upper chest. As a former cardiac surgery patient, I can personally relate and attest to this.<\/p>\n

From stretching at cardiac rehab<\/a> to running along the beach, it takes a significant amount of time to heal and get back in the physical swing of things. The saying, “No pain. No gain.” actually applies somewhat to heart valve surgery recovery.<\/p>\n

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\"SCUBA<\/div>\n
Robyn and I Scuba Dive In Fiji On Our Honeymoon<\/div>\n

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I’ll never forget when my surgeon told me to “Play through it Adam!” Dr. Vaughn Starnes, my cardiothoracic surgeon<\/a>, was referring to the soreness and pain I complained about in my chest. “Your heart is doing great,” he said, “Better than before! Now you just need to play through it. Your discomfort is muscular-skeletal.”<\/p>\n

I took those words of wisdom to heart (pun intended).<\/p>\n

Soon enough, I found myself lifting light weights, swimming laps in the pool, riding my bike and even running. Once I graduated from cardiac rehab, I took on another challenge… Returning to my surfboard!!! (See my “Surf’s Up!” blog<\/a> to read about my return to surfing.)<\/p>\n

Recently, I broke through another physical barrier that I will share with you:<\/p>\n

In 1999, I became a certified SCUBA diver. Shortly thereafter, I became a SCUBA diving nut<\/em>. During the following five years, I logged over 100 dives across the United States, Mexico, the Carribean, Bali and Thailand. SCUBA diving is an amazing sport. It’s probably the closest I will ever get to being an astronaut.<\/p>\n

Considering my valves were replaced using the via the Ross Procedure in 2005, I figured that my days of SCUBA were over! However, just to be sure, I emailed Dr. Starnes and asked him whether or not I could SCUBA dive following my cardiac surgery. His response was clear. The email read, “You are fine to go scuba diving after heart surgery.”<\/p>\n

I have to admit I was happy and concerned at the same time. On one hand, I desperately wanted to get back in the water, submerge 50 feet and swim with all types of fish, eels, sharks, coral and anemones. On the other hand, I was a little frightened that Scuba diving after heart surgery could be disastrous. “What if something wrong happens?” I thought to myself. “What if the pressure under water compromises my valves?” A million different “What if’s” drifted through my brain.<\/p>\n

Well… Fear, as you probably know, can be a dangerous mind-game. Someone once told me that fear is really nothing more than a foolish acronym, F.E.A.R.<\/em><\/p>\n