Diren's Journal

Sean Adkins  I can only speak for myself personally. My fitness level has improved but I do have bouts with fatigue from time to time. My running times have improved and I can run farther without walking than I could prior to my surgery. I hope this helps 

Rose Madura  Diren, from my experience, my fitness level was much better after surgery.  I had the same surgery as you are.  I hope you have a great result.  I'm sure you will feel better.  Please keep us posted.

J Alexander Lassally  Better, yes, but be realistic about recovery and don't set bar too high. With younger patients (like myself @ 50) there is a tendency to "hear all the noise" about miraculous improvements and being better than ever in no time.   It does get better, but fatigue is real, and constant attention to training helps!  

John Cook  Counter example:  I was a runner and never had any symptoms pre-surgery. If I hadn’t been told I had a problem, I wouldn’t have known.  I’m 11-months post surgery today and my running ability is still about 85-90% of pre-surgery.

My surgery was a Ross with an aneurysm repair.

Marie Myers  Yes there will be improvements in fitness, but you must be patient. It is. A huge surgery, and will require time to recover and then regain your fitness.

Diren P  Hello,
Thank you all for your replies. 


Sean; My fitness level is terrible; I can't run at all, and
even brisk walking only lasts 20-25 minutes at most before I run out of breath
and get tired quickly. Your situation is very encouraging; I hope I'll get
better too.

Rose; My aortic valve will be a mechanical valve;
there's also the Ozaki option, but I didn't want that.Your situation has
honestly given me even more hope; I hope to be like you after my surgery. Thank
you for your support.

Alex; I also want to be both realistic and positive about
the recovery period. Of course, the process will take time. I honestly want to
be more results-oriented; my performance won't improve drastically, but you
can't help but think that with a new aortic valve, you can do sports better and
be more resilient.

John; Yes, this was a different example. Honestly, I also
have many symptoms, and of course, fear, because if I push myself too hard, I
feel like I'm going to faint, I get dizzy, and I can't breathe. Because of this
fear, I can't even do sports. But I hope you will also reach your old
performance level as time goes on.

Marie: I guess I have no choice but to be patient, because
I really miss playing tennis. And I truly want to believe that I will feel
better and be more resilient after the surgery.