{"id":76,"date":"2007-08-02T11:11:23","date_gmt":"2007-08-02T16:11:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2007\/08\/02\/heart-surgery-and-depression-cardiac-depression\/"},"modified":"2025-06-08T16:26:15","modified_gmt":"2025-06-08T21:26:15","slug":"heart-surgery-and-depression-cardiac-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heart-valve-surgery.com\/heart-surgery-blog\/2007\/08\/02\/heart-surgery-and-depression-cardiac-depression\/","title":{"rendered":"The Realities of Cardiac Depression after Open Heart Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

I just received an interesting email from Carol that directly relates to heart surgery recovery. Carol writes, “Hi Adam – My husband had mitral valve replacement<\/a> three weeks ago. I’m curious… Did you experience depression after heart valve surgery? Is it common for patients to experience cardiac depression following heart valve repair or heart valve replacement?”<\/p>\n

Let me start by answering Carol’s first question. Yes, I did experience both heart surgery and depression. I had my pulmonary and aortic valves replaced<\/a> in 2005. As for cardiac depression, I did not have any immediate form of depression during my 5 days in the hospital or during the first three weeks following my heart valve replacement surgery recovery. However, as I entered into my fourth week of recovery, I did begin to experience many symptoms of this post-operative condition.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Cardiac<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Needless to say, this was not a very fun time in my life. Pre-surgery, I was a very upbeat person. For me, the glass was always “half-full”. I’m an optimist that believes anything is possible. Post-surgery, however, I was exactly the opposite. I was lethargic, anxious, confused, pessimistic and isolated. I was also having issues sleeping.<\/p>\n

What a miserable experience for me and all of my caregivers, especially my fiance (Robyn). I was a mess. And, my family… I don’t know how they put up with me!!! Thank goodness those dark days are lonnnnnnnnnnng gone.<\/p>\n

To better understand cardiac depression, I researched the this topic for my book. I created a survey that was completed by many former heart valve surgery patients. As you would imagine, several survey questions directly related to depression.<\/p>\n

The survey results are very, very, very interesting. In one of the questions, I asked the former patients, “Did you experience any form of cardiac depression during your recovery?”<\/p>\n

Before I give you the results, my previous research suggested that between 30% – 75% of heart surgery patients experience cardiac depression. My research also suggested that more men than women are impacted by depression after heart valve surgery.<\/p>\n

With that said, here are the results from my survey. According to the patients surveyed, 32% of patients experienced heart surgery and depression. That’s a pretty significant number.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Cardiac<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, the questions become… How do you avoid cardiac depression? And, if you experience this condition after surgery, how do you get your recovery back on track?<\/p>\n

Related Links:<\/p>\n