Hi everyone, glad to have found this community! I just had a valve sparing root replacement and aneurysm repair surgery this November. I was born with an aortic ...Read more
Hi everyone, glad to have found this community! I just had a valve sparing root replacement and aneurysm repair surgery this November. I was born with an aortic coarctation that was repaired when I was 3, and a bicuspid valve with an associated ascending aortic aneurysm. It'd been steady at 4.6cm when I discovered it about a decade ago, but it jumped within the past couple of years to 5.2cm. I also had my gallbladder removed in an urgent procedure just two weeks prior to heart surgery. It's been one heck of a recovery, but I'm feeling healthier now than ever before. I was wondering if anyone else had some similar post surgery experiences as I have: My heartbeat is STRONG. Strong as in I feel it thumping against my chest like never before. My partner can even feel it thumping when laying next to me in bed. My resting heart rate is anywhere from 102-112 when I'm standing, I don't know if that's normal at this stage of recovery.
Thank you for any responses and I hope everyone has been well.
Grace Mason Welcome Daniel 😊 I had surgery in September 2023 and yes, I too had a bed rocking heartbeat pos ... Read more
Grace Mason Welcome Daniel 😊 I had surgery in September 2023 and yes, I too had a bed rocking heartbeat post surgery. I believe it calmed down around 12 weeks or else I just became accustomed to it. Many others have also noticed this occurring, you are not alone. My heart rate was also faster post surgery 85-90 and walking sometimes it went over 100, but now 4 months later it is back to normal ranges during activity and my resting HR even drops to 55 when I am sleeping. Wishing you well in your continued double recovery!
Daniel Lopez Thank you Grace, that's reassuring to hear. I guess it is still early, I'm at the 10 week mark. I fee ... Read more
Daniel Lopez Thank you Grace, that's reassuring to hear. I guess it is still early, I'm at the 10 week mark. I feel great overall and I'm already able to do things I haven't been so great at in the past due to severe aortic regurgitation. I guess I need to be more patient and let the process play out. I just get a little nervous about the heart rate since it was 82-92 before surgery.
c w Hi, Daniel. Glad you are doing well, save the heart rate. Mine was higher than normal until about rec ... Read more
c w Hi, Daniel. Glad you are doing well, save the heart rate. Mine was higher than normal until about recently and I'm four months out. Have you talked to your doctor about it? If your heart rate is over 100 all the time, they might want to know about that.
Daniel Lopez I'm going in for a followup and stress test tomorrow, I do plan on talking about it.
Michele Renee Hi Daniel! I think that’s pretty normal. I’m two weeks out and have the same thing, strong thumpi ... Read more
Michele Renee Hi Daniel! I think that’s pretty normal. I’m two weeks out and have the same thing, strong thumping heart beat. My heart rate is in the 70s, but my blood pressure is super low. I went into affib twice and am on medication to help and was told it should all calm down once my heart recovers. I am sure this is all about recovery, but I know it can be worrisome. I didn’t know recovery would be so challenging. Let us know what your doctor says!
Daniel Lopez Just got back from my checkup and stress test. The cardiologist was surprised at the strength/loudnes ... Read more
Daniel Lopez Just got back from my checkup and stress test. The cardiologist was surprised at the strength/loudness of my heartbeat but not overly concerned. Stress test results were great and everything looks good. He was immediately concerned about my report of the occasional temporary blindness so he recommended an immediate referral to a neurologist about it. I found one for this Tuesday. He also placed a monitor so I'll be wearing that for a couple of weeks. I'm hoping the eye issue isn't something serious like clotting. :(
c w Glad your heart is doing well, but temporary blindness, what! I would be living in the ER if that hap ... Read more
c w Glad your heart is doing well, but temporary blindness, what! I would be living in the ER if that happened to me. I’m sorry to hear this. Glad you got an appointment soonish — tho I imagine the wait must be stressful. And I also hope it is easily explained. ❤️
Valerie Allen Hmm, have you ever had migraines with aura? Many of us here expressed we do and some said this increa ... Read more
Valerie Allen Hmm, have you ever had migraines with aura? Many of us here expressed we do and some said this increased for a while after surgery. My migraine begins with a blind spot in one eye then progresses to visual aura, then is fine. If that sounds anything like what you experience, many of us seem to.
Daniel Lopez Valerie, you know what, I think so. My whole life I would get sudden sharp pains around my eye or tem ... Read more
Daniel Lopez Valerie, you know what, I think so. My whole life I would get sudden sharp pains around my eye or temples. I wouldn't say it's frequent, maybe once every couple of months, but it's something that always feels the same. It'll last for a few seconds, incredibly painful but goes away quickly. @c w, it was happening about 3 or 4 times a week when I was on metoprolol for a month after the surgery, but this Tuesday was the first time it happened since finishing that med. It's like an eclipse passing over my eye, mostly blind but I still can see around the periphery, almost like a film.
Michele Renee Hi! I was having weird visual things, like lighting bolts and squiggles. I also suffer from migraine ... Read more
Michele Renee Hi! I was having weird visual things, like lighting bolts and squiggles. I also suffer from migraines but this has been a little different. Metoprolol, I read and the doctor mentioned the medication has been associated with visual effects. That medication made me feel terrible ! Maybe it’s the after effects of taking the medication? But I do agree with Valerie, I have had way more migraines that have increased after surgery. I know the eclipse part you described can happen with migraines as well
Grace Mason Daniel my visual aura is sort of similar to what you describe but opposite. My periphery vision is li ... Read more
Grace Mason Daniel my visual aura is sort of similar to what you describe but opposite. My periphery vision is like a film and I have tunnel vision for several minutes before I would get a migraine. Now I sometimes have the aura with no migraine.
I was wondering if anyone else had some similar post surgery experiences as I have:
My heartbeat is STRONG. Strong as in I feel it thumping against my chest like never before. My partner can even feel it thumping when laying next to me in bed.
My resting heart rate is anywhere from 102-112 when I'm standing, I don't know if that's normal at this stage of recovery.
Thank you for any responses and I hope everyone has been well.
I had surgery in September 2023 and yes, I too had a bed rocking heartbeat pos ... Read more
I had surgery in September 2023 and yes, I too had a bed rocking heartbeat post surgery. I believe it calmed down around 12 weeks or else I just became accustomed to it. Many others have also noticed this occurring, you are not alone.
My heart rate was also faster post surgery 85-90 and walking sometimes it went over 100, but now 4 months later it is back to normal ranges during activity and my resting HR even drops to 55 when I am sleeping.
Wishing you well in your continued double recovery!
@c w, it was happening about 3 or 4 times a week when I was on metoprolol for a month after the surgery, but this Tuesday was the first time it happened since finishing that med. It's like an eclipse passing over my eye, mostly blind but I still can see around the periphery, almost like a film.