Joe's Posts

It's been 4 months since I was discharged from the hospital following my mitral valve repair surgery. The surgery seems like a long time ago now. Overall, it wasn't a bad experience and I remember thinking that even at the time. Pain was minimal. My anesthesiologist administered an intercostal nerve block that lasted a day and half. No pain when the chest tube was removed, and the most discomfort was from the groin incision. In fact the most uncomfortable procedure was the arterial blood gas draw at the pre-op. As of now I only have a little bit of dull pain like sensation around my right breast where the clamps went in that I suspect is nerve related and is going away slowly. I'm finally back to my normal weight and full exercise routine. I definitely feel better than just before the surgery, but not quite as good as I felt before my valve failed. My mitral valve failure was sudden and not a slow progression, going from a 0-1 to a 4++ a year later. Recent echo showed some residual regurgitation and I still feel some occasional shortness of breath. Cardiologist is monitoring and has me on 25 MG / day of metoprolol (which doesn't help with the shortness of breath). My RHR is still averaging in the mid to high 80's. Before my valve failure event it was 50-60s. Adjusting to the 'new normal' but wondering if others have similar experiences?