divya's Journal

J Alexander Lassally  That is too bad ! Might be worth looking over your surgical notes to see if any comments were made when you were intubated etc?! 

Kathy Ozio  I'm sorry about the vocal chords.  🙁  It sounds like you're healing very well from the heart surgery!

Daisy Tanner  Oh my! So sorry Divya. I pray your vocal cords heal quickly Glad the rest of your healing is going well. Please keep us updated. Take care and big hugs

J Alexander Lassally  Hi from west coast. I just wrote earlier tonight to another mitral patient that the big gift we can urge new wariors is that resting HRs run super high post surgery regardless of any other factor. Make sure you are on a beta blocker as 100 is high.  But yes, it will come down. I was in the 90s and took the extended release metoprolol for about 2.3 to 3 months - and tapered back.  It helps. 

Many mitral patients express shortness of breath after surgery too. It is counterintuitive, but does improve. 


As for the throat - seems pretty common to have weak voice.  Many patients have shared this. It took me a long time to have power in my voice...That is a super long intubation. How long was your actual surgery?  It should improve. 

No specific insight in the swallowing topic...  Best of luck !! 

divya gangadharan  Thanks for sharing all those insights and experiences, Alexander.

My surgery was 6-7 hrs long, but they kept me intubated for long since I was bleeding a little more than normal from my chest tubes. 

I am already on a low dose metoprolol for an unconnected spontaneous  coronary artery dissection 2 years prior. I usually run a low BP and it has been even lower post surgery, so upping Metoprolol might pose some concern with fatigue, but I will make sure to check with my cardiologist. Thanks for the suggestion!
Thank you for the wishes!

Rita Savelis  Hi. Sorry that you have to go through this. It is definitely normal to have a fast heart rate after heart valve surgery. Sometimes doctors will prescribe betablockers for a few weeks/months which slow your heart down and give it a rest.  Your heart, and you, have been through a lot. So many parts of your body are affected. Things will eventually settle. I did not have more energy after surgery and was short of breath for awhile. Take care.

Fidel Martínez Ruiz  Hey Divya: I agree with Rita and Alexander comments , only adding some points of my own experience. Regarding squeaky and strained voice and dysfagia, I experienced it too and would not pay much attention. Regarding resting heart rate I felt also an increase in BPM after surgery which was progressively decreasing I think that due above all to the beneficial effects of the exercise which I began at the hospital rehabilitation and by myself afterwards. But be careful with the way you do the exercise, it shouldn´t be too much at the beginning, sometimes rushing is not good. You have a foreign valve implanted despite being biological, which is sutured into the vento atrial space and all the whole has a fatigue life so and overexertion is not convenient above all at the beginning, because same as a small break or crack can occur in the valve-suture assembly which will along the time grow and then shorten the life of the prosthesis. It is good let the blood stream recover naturally the new valve with its own layer which can protect it against any unwanted initial crack. That´s why is good to make exercise but gradually, little to little. In my case I began first with the rehabilitation in the hospital, which really defines you the limits of BPM you can reach. After in home, walking at home or doing small walks around my house (just like Richard does with Shadow,), paying attention to your body sensations, increasing after a couple of weeks. At two or three months in each training session by myself I could already walk quickly about 1 hour getting between 105 and 110 bpm and maintaining it about half an hour more which is recommended by physiotherapists three or 4 days a week. But the crucial thing is be patient and do it progressively, not the first day. At three months I resumed my hiking and walks on mountains. Sorry Heart Warriors for this long and boring comment. That's what my wife tells me .

Suzanne White  So I had mitral valve and triscupid valve last May and I went through a long period trying to get my heart rate under control !!  It was high and continuing to spike high.  They put me on Metropropol yet it took me to experiment with the right dosage to finally get it right.  They put me on 25M once a day.  I finally changed it and take 50M in the AM and 25M in the evening and it has been working (finally).  So don't get discouraged it took me some weeks and months to get mine figured out !!  xoxo

Fidel Martínez Ruiz  Of course, I´m taking Bisoprolol, of the same family of Metropolol and Losartan to control the arterial pressure. 

Joyce Shelby  Hi!  I had a 2nd heart surgery on my Aortic Root this past February 3rd and my surgery was about 8 hours long and I was intubated for a long period of time as well.  My voice was ok during my stay in the hospital(13 days).  After about one week from leaving the hospital, I lost my voice and it was like I had Laryngitis.  I could barely whisper.  My doctor told me to rest my voice during this time and they set me up with an ENT.  Fortunately, my voice slowly returned.  The whole process of my voice returning took about 3-4 weeks but it is back to normal; much to the chagrin of my family as I am able to yell now!  I wish you a speedy recovery!

STEPHEN MORRIS  After my surgery, I couldn't walk past the next room..and that was with a walker. My surgery was due to sepsis and was quite complicated. My surgeon says I am a miracle. Remember, surgery was done to fix a problem,  but it also damages tissue which takes time to heal. I was close to a year before I felt normal again.

divya gangadharan  Rita Savelis, Thank you for sharing your  insights on  heart rate and experience with shortness of breath after surgery.

Fidel Martinez Ruiz, Do you know how long it took for the voice and dysphagia to resolve for you? Thank for the tips on pacing up the exercise level! I will check with my cardiologist on whether and which beta blocker to take. 

Suzanne White, Thanks you for sharing your experience with the high heart rate as well. I wish the medical community would understand these expectations as well. I have had a bunch of nurses double checking my pulse after surgery and being concerned about the high heart rate. 

Joyce Shelby,  Thank you for that timeline with losing your voice. Yeah, I am hoping for the best. I still get in a few yells at my kids :), but it is hard for them to take me seriously ( I don't blame them) when my voice sounds like that of a squirrel :)

Stephen Morris, I will remember to give myself some grace and allow for healing.

Fidel Martínez Ruiz  Divya, tell me only Fidel, is shorter (😉). I recovered a normal voice in one or two months I don´t exactly remember. The dysphagia was solved in one week without medication, but sometimes now I have episodes, in my case due to mild reflux from estomac. If you notice that it don´t disappear in some days, you can consult your GP doctor . Keep us informed.

Denise Kirchner  Hi Divya.  I  also had issues with my voice after my second mitral valve repair surgery in 2016 due to 24 hours of intubation.  Voice therapy helped some but I cannot sing and hit the high notes like I used to before surgery.  I look at it as a small price to pay for the life saving  surgery.  I too had a higher heart rate in the 90’s for the first month or so after surgery, but with metoprolol, a daily walking routine and cardiac rehab I gradually was back to my normal 55 resting heart rate within 4 - 6 months post surgery.
It will get better it just takes time. I will keep you in my prayers.  Take care and God bless you. 🙏🏻❤️❤️‍🩹



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Trygve Harris  Hi Divya--I had a re-replacement of the mitral, this time with bovine, and only 18 months after the first one.....both open sternum. My heart was very very slow and I ended up with a pacemaker, which I love. They kept me on warfarin for a month, and had stopped all the other meds. Now, 6 months later, the only med is apixiban. It seems to be working fine. But I have to say, heart surgery needs time. I don't remember how my voice was, but it was likely somewhat hoarse as I seems to talk constantly. I guess my point is that there's a lot of normals. I literally couldn't stand after this second one at Mt Sinai, but after a few days was cruising around quite easily, within the confines of the cardiac surgical ward. I think time is important. Your body needs time to heal. I agree with the points made above.


Now my heart rate goes higher, into the 120s just walking but I understand that is ok. Just saw my cardiologist. I think there is a wide scope of normal. One week is not long at all. Enjoy your recovery!

Stephen Walsh  I had a hoarse, deeper and raspy voice after Aortic Valve Replacement, 18 months ago - colleagues told me it sounded like George Clooney...took about 3 months to resolve, it just takes time.

Grace Mason   I feel for you Divya. I had an extremely sore throat post surgery and could barely talk without triggering an immediate coughing fit. What helped me was, not talking, throat lozenges and cool drinks. It took about 6-8 weeks for it to recover.Hang in there! Hope all your complications begin to resolve soon! ❤️‍🩹

divya gangadharan  Thanks Fidel for the voice and dysphagia timeline. You are all so helpful!
Thank you Denise. I am hopeful that my voice  will get back soon. One of my favorite things to do  is to jam with my 10 year old girl.
Wow Trygve. You have gone through a lot with 2 surgeries in such a short span of time. Kudos for staying strong and giving back. Thank you for your advice. I will definitely give myself time and hope.
Stephen- Hearing that you sound like george clooney must have cracked you up. Thank you for giving me hope!
Thanks for sharing, Grace. Will hang in here. I appreciate all the kind words of this community!

Yumiko Ishida  Sorry you are having complications. I did not have the voice and dysphasia issues myself, but they are common as others here have testified. High HR is almost universal, I think? My resting HR was around 110 when I left the hospital, was told that is high normal, and send home without any beta blocker. I was in afib for a long time and was on a beta blocker before the surgery, so I was paranoid about going back into afib and asked for propranolol, more for confort and my peace of mind. Having high HR all the time is exhausting. I was warned by my electrophysiologist not to stop taking the beta blocker suddenly, though. Apparently it could have a rebound effect. So I've started at 100 mg/day and slowly reduced it to 20mg/day. If you are put on a beta blocker, make sure dosing adjustments are gradual. Sending you prayers for a full recovery

divya gangadharan  Thanks Yumiko. That is around the heart rate I am at 100-110. I currently am in sinus rhythm. I don't feel "bad" from the heart rate as such. Interested in knowing if anybody knows exactly what negative health impacts high heart rate causes. Of course, long term this will cause my heart to overwork . I wonder what the short term ( few months that is generally sited here) implications are.