Jeniver's Journal

Hello heart-valve warriors!! I will be 5 mths post-op on Dec. 21. I had my aortic valve replaced and had my aneurysm grafted. I have been feeling just about like my old self for about 3mths now. I made my running goal and completed a 5mi run before I was 5 months post-op. My question is...every so ofter (2-3X a week) my vision changes a bit. Has anyone had any issues with their vision after surgery? -Tik-Tok -jen

hello there!!! Well, it's been awhile. About 8 years ago I found out I needed heart surgery eventually. I am a 46 year old female that just HAD my tricuspid valve replaced and aneurysm graphed (I had a birth defect, my tricuspid valve only had two leaflets). I am 5 weeks post-op. I had my surgery done at the Advent Hospital by Dr. Kevin Accola on July 21, 2020. I am so thankful that I got to have 1 person come into the hospital with me. Covid has made the entire process more difficult. I basically quarantined for like 4 months before surgery, since I found out that I was going to need it. Back in the beginning of May, (after going through my usually scheduled yearly echo) my cardiologist informed me that my stenosis from last year to this year went from 22 to 40 and that it was time to call my surgeon. After that, I had to wait like 3 weeks (all waiting was do to Covid and the dr. offices were taking a quarter of their patients) I had to get a heart cath done and then I sent my results to Dr. Accola. I got in about 3 weeks later and then at that appointment we scheduled my surgery. It was brutal. No lie. I am an avid exerciser (5 days a week), I teach Health and PE and coach volleyball for both indoor regular season and travel volleyball. And it was rough. I went into surgery, kinda relaxed, not crazy nervous. And didn't realize the challenges ahead of me. A lot of pain!! (the chest tubes were the worst!!) and I didn't like how loopy my brain was and still is from both the anesthesia and narcotics they gave me. My memory is still affected from the anesthesia. (so I apologize if my writing doesn't make total sense) I only took the narcotic pain meds through day 3 in the hospital and then relied on Tylenol until about 3 weeks post-op. Lots of little challenges and victories to go with them. The little challenges were things like plugging my iPhone to my charger was to much chest movement right when I got home, walking and balance a challenge without a walker, moving quickly...not even a thing. But...it does get better. EVERY WEEK IS A HUGE IMPROVEMENT!! At 4 weeks, I was independent. I can now shower by myself standing up, cook, I can do small loads of laundry, feed the dogs and let them out, drive small distances (I haven't tried going to far), and have been doing work from home. I'm doing great right now, but I still have moments of light headedness throughout the day (the dr. said that will get better and better). I have been walking since I got home and now ride my stationary bike. I signed up for cardiac rehab classes and they start Sept. 4th. I'm still on a baby aspirin and amiodarone until the 6th week. I went through a full day and night of AFIB (that really sucked) and one other time when I got home at week 2. Please let me know if there is anyone that needs questions answered about having surgery during these crazy times. I just did it. And just know, that..."this too shall pass"

well, i went to see my cardiologist in aug., but i am just updating now :( sorry. *my dr. went over MRA results with me and let me know that nothing has changed since my previous test and they consider me stable for now and will now give me my MRA and echo every year instead of every 6 mths. I will continue to see her every 6 mths just to get \"check ups\". so....thats good But,....i have been working out really hard lately and feeling really good. I have been taking spinning classes and body pump classes lifting low weight, but high reps. *I thought i would go for a jog after a yoga class i took to get in some cardio and was feeling great!! I was beating my regular time on that run by 2 minutes!!!!! thats huge!!! so i decided to go my entire 4 miles since there was some cloud cover and not unbearable heat. Before i knew it the clouds opened up and the heat shot to 95 and i was 2 miles from home with no shade. i ended up making it home, but feeling weird with chills. the rest of the day and days following (even currently)i have had a fluttery chest and my sitting pulse is higher than normal, but BP fine. i called cardiologist to let her know and she is sending me some sort of monitor to wear for a week to see what is going on. *i will update when i get some news back. *jen

let\'s start out by saying sorry for not posting my last test results -6 mths ago :( -but...here now and updating. i just got my MRA results back. Annie the aneurysm is still the same at a 4.3. yeah!!! the days leading up to the tests are slightly grueling as most of u know and your mind plays tricks on u. u literally THINK your heart is racing faster, heart is beating harder, and think \"IS THIS ACTUALLY THE TIME that the radiologist say annie has grown????\" but, she has not and dodged another bullet for now :) i have one more test next week. i will get my echo done and they will check for any regurge and general heart condition that they did not check for during the MRA. i will post once i see dr. cintron. until then..... jen

ok...here\'s the latest, just went to the cardiologist and actually got really good news!! all the latest tests came back good. dr. cintron said i just need to make sure i keep my cholesterol in check and no extra calcium supplements. i have a little (very little) calcium build up on my bicuspid valve. apparently bicuspid valves tend to get more calcium build up then a normal tricuspid valves. **my aneurysm is still the same size and regurge is about the same too. (and i decided to name my aneurysm ANNA, it sounds so harsh when i or others say THE ANEURYSM....da. da. daaaa. Anna the aneurysm sounds less heavy) so, hopefully it will be 6 months to my next up date. until then my friends!

i just took my stress test followed by an echo this morning. i am awaiting the results. the murse said \"if u get a call n the next few days, u will probably have to come and take some more tests; if they do not call u, just come for your next appt on the 25th\" so....no news is good news!! thanx to my hubby and my sista for coming and waiting for me!! i appreciate the support. loves!!

ok...well, my follow up visit from my MRA (done in july)...no news is good news; i guess??? was today. i went alone (NEVER GO ALONE) to my appt and thought i would be in and out. well.... needless to say i am currently wearing a heart monitor for 24 hrs b/c dr. c was hearing more irregular heartbeats. i also let her know that my runs r a bit crazy in the fact that i can\'t seem to run past 40-45 min and in some runs my heart rate is getting super high within a minute or two starting my runs then starts to regulate. i have stopped kickboxing completely (just found out today that if i where to get kicked in the chest i could die instantly!!!! which is good to know!!) and holding on to the idea that my running can continue because if all i am left with for an exercise routine is yoga, i am screwed! so, this coming wednesday i am getting another stress test followed by an echo to check my valve and see if there is any difference in regurge i assume. i will keep u posted when i have a follow up appt from my tests next week. until then \"just keep tickin\" as adam would say!

ok i had the MRA done this past friday and the results on the aneurysm are the same at a 4.3 and has not grown!! i will wait for my official dr\'s appt to see if dr. cintron will order anymore tests or not. thanx so much to all my friends, family, & those who have gone thru similar heart issues on this site for all your kindness & support

hello, it\'s been awhile since my last post (which is always good news, mostly). **i have been having some \'episodes\' so i call them and feeling such a squeezing tightness in my heart and chest. one evening it woke me out of a deep sleep 3x and now is happening on and off for the past week. **when i have been running, my heart rate gets to 160 within the first 2 min and stays to about 173ish the remainder of the run. i went to dr. and let them know my latest and dr. cintron has ordered an MRA i will b taking tomorrow at 10:30. ** i feel a little anxious about the test b/c it will b the first time we can compare results to my first and only set of tests i had done in feb--march when i found out about all this craziness. so essentially i will find out if my aneurysm has grown at all or stayed the same. **i dunno what is better; sitting in this health heart purgatory just waiting or actually having some sort of plan of action. it raises the question \"which is the lesser of the two evils?\" **i will post when i get results, but i am keeping my head high, just a minor speed bump. **funny how a heart test can make your heart race like you just ran a fifty yard dash!?!

well, let\'s start off by saying thank u all for your kind and encouraging words. every scary moment n this crazy heart news is always calmed by reading your advice, encouragements, and/or \"we are here for you\'s.\" sooooo, we (me and the fam) went to orlando this past weekend for a fun-filled birthday weekend/dr. appt/theme parks. (i\'m sure the kiddo\'s are going to want me to go to the dr. all the time after all the fun they just had). i met with dr. kevin accola. i got his name first from the HVJ book, then started googling and talking to others about him and his practice. he is wonderful. he is very down-to-earth and made us feel like we had known him for years. my husband even said \"i can see him and i playing golf together if he lived near by.\" he reviewed all my films and told me my bicuspid valve (should be a tricuspid) is working really well with very little back flow. my dilated aorta is at 4.2-4.3 and he will watch it by me getting an echo every 6mths. he said we will start to get a little more excited when it reaches 4.6-4.8 and that will be the time we will start looking at surgery because he does not want the bicuspid to enlarge and spread apart allowing more regurgitation. the procedure will still be a full on stern anatomy to graft the aneurysm, but i will not need a valve replacement or repair!! that\'s really good news because that means i do not need to keep replacing the valve in the future. love to all. i will keep you updated and on track. thank you again for helping me through this. jen

ok. i have decided to get another opinion from dr. accola in orlando, fl. i spoke with his staff and they are all wonderful and looking forward to our visit. we are going to make a family vacation out of it. (turning challenging decision making into fun or a little something to take the edge off). we are driving up on my bday, spending the day at disney then the following day taking a visit to the hospital and meet with dr. accola. his staff said i will walk out of there knowing answers to all my questions!! i will update my HVJ when i have news at the end of the month. until then i\'ll keep ticking away. thanx so much for all your love and support and advice. its a great day!!

funny how my most favorite sport and thing to do to escape is now a fear. i love to run. always have. i normally just put my shoes on, get all my necessities (ipod, water belt etc) and get out the door to forget about the day or stressful things. running puts my mind at ease and just lets me get away for a bit. BUT... just the opposite happened yesterday. i took a short run (dr\'s seem to think that i can still take my runs and work out) and the entire time i was out there, i could not stop thinking about damaging my heart even more or passing out and someone finding me on the side of the street. crazy thoughts. that is all that was going thru my head were crazy, bad type thoughts. and when i got home it took me awhile to settle down and get my heart to stop stabbing me with pains. i won\'t run anymore until after my heart is repaired. ironic to think how my most peaceful time alone is now my most scariest time alone? still getting used to my \'new normal\'. jen

dealing with things and trying to make the best out of a \"ticky\" situation. well, i will take one day at a time and thank goodness that my husband and children are healthy. next, i am very lucky what i have can be fixed and is the answer to what i have been feeling in my chest. lastly, i am thankful that all the heart stuff is found and now i just need to play the waiting game and listen to my body. walks help and writing in a journal helps too. the feeling of being all alone, that no one understands is subsiding now that i am reading lots of other success stories on this site and in adam\'s book. jen