Robert's Journal

I'm circling back to the community. 14 months post surgery and I'm doing great. Exercising regularly loving life every day. I hope all the rest of you are doing as well and those that have upcoming surgeries - You got this !

Greetings all. I'm doing great. I'm back at work full time as of Nov 14th. I'm hiking and walking about 20 miles a week and working out vigorously at cardiac rehab Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Honestly I feel better than I have in 20 years. I thought I was mostly asymptomatic before surgery but I guess i had more symptoms than I thought. I'm sleeping better than I have in years. My stamina on walks and hikes is outstanding and I feel so much better than before. I have my first echo scheduled for December 20th and it should be interesting to see where my EF reading is at. I was at close to 30% before surgery. I continue to have an irregular heart beat but it's not AFIB. Docs aren't too worried about it and they continue to say it will likely go back to regular sinus rhythm after some time. I'm trying to secure a hand held INR meter through my doctor's office so I don't have to go to the lab every two or three weeks. I've had no issue getting up to speed on the Coumadin at all and haven't had to adjust my lifestyle really at all because of my coumadin therapy. For those patients considering a mechanical valve don't let the coumadin aspect scare you away. Its easy. Peace out heart warriors. Good luck to all those waiting for or thinking about surgery and continued good luck to those in recovery like myself. You got this.

I'm five weeks out from AVR. Physically I'm doing great. Cardiac Rehab is going well and I've been walking 4 miles every other day or so. But I'm in and out of a regular heart rhythm. My Cardiac Rehab people say it's a regular Irregular rhythm and will likely resolve itself after some time. My cardiologist said the same and also the surgeon early on. I feel great. Better than I thought I would at this time. I'm sleeping great and experiencing no symptoms like before the surgery. I worry about this irregular heartbeat. Am I worrying too much. Who else has experience like this and when did it resolve. I know every patient is different but I guess I'm looking for straws to grasp at. I don't want to have an irregular rhythm for life. Thanks in advance.

Greetings Community. I've been lurking for close to a year now. I've had my Aortic Valve replaced at Mass General on September 10th and I'm home recuperating. I'm doing better than I expected I would be at this time. No help needed in or out of bed or the bath and I"m making most of my own meals. I'm up to 3.3 miles walking as of this week and my stamina is improving daily. I'm experiencing intermittent AFIB. I read and hear from the doctors this is common and will likely resolve within 6 weeks from surgery. I'm curious to hear other experiences with AFIB, especially those who experience it intermittently like me. The doctor said the fact it's intermittent is a good sign. It usually lasts a few hours or overnight and then is gone for 3 or 4 days till I hear it again. It's strange to hear the click click of the mechanical valve. It's louder than I expected. Thanks to Adam for writing the book. I found it so helpful when I was first diagnosed and it really helped my family too. Thanks also to the many people who've posted and I've read in this forum over the past year. Hearing your experiences have really helped.