Stephen's Guestbook

Stephen Lynch  Hi Ana, thank you for your message. I’m exactly 6 weeks from surgery today and I’m feeling great. I meet the surgeon and was on the phone with my cardiologist last week and they are both very happy, they said I could start driving again, I can ease back into doing weight training in the gym and I can stop the medication I was temporarily on after surgery with the exception of warfarin as with the mechanical On X aortic valve I will be on this for life. So thankfully that’s all good news. The symptoms I had before surgery have gone. I feel my fitness has increased with the new valve. I’m also down some weight from the surgery which is a nice unintended benefit.

My overall experience was great, it’s not a surgery that should be feared from my experience.

Pre surgery I was having heart flutters, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing when lying down and strong pulses. But being young in my 20s I didn’t realise these were a symptoms of a heart problem. I though it was caused from the coffee I was drinking and maybe my fitness being low, despite regular exercise. So I largely ignored these for around 2 years until the health committee in the office I work organised a cardiac health screening for the office which I signed up for.

At the cardiac health screening it was discovered I had a heart murmur and referred to a cardiologist for review. He diagnosed me with serve aortic regurgitation, said I would need surgery to replace my aortic valve and sent me for a echo gram test. The echo gram showed my heart was enlarged, the ejection fraction of my left ventricle was 50 and that I had a bicuspid aortic valve. The symptoms, heart enlargement and ejection fraction were all indicators for surgery.

I was referred to a Cardiothoracic surgeon, he advised a mechanical valve rather then tissue valve would be best for me as with my age of 29, the tissue valve may only last 10 years and I would need another surgery then but with the mechanical valve it should last for my life with a low risk I will need a re operation at some stage.

I had done my own research and asked if I could have the On X valve as this valve is FDA approved for a low warfarin dose. Which I received. Thankfully he was able to do a mini sternotomy i.e only cut the top 4 inches or so of my sternum and left the bottom half untouched, as I do weight training this is very beneficial to me. I did the cardio rehabilitation. The surgery was a success and thankfully my recovery went perfectly. The whole experience was thankfully much easier then I thought it would be.

  Wow Stephen, what a great post . So glad you are recovering well and doing well. You are young and will recover quickly but make sure to listen to your body and don’t overdo it. Take care and stay in touch. God bless you and keep you healthy.

Susan Lynn  Welcome, Stephen! You certainly have been through a lot for a 29 year old. We have several On X valve heart warriors on this site and many who weight train. Sounds like you're on a quick road to recovery. Wishing you continued success!