Living with a Mechanical Heart Valve: Click.Tick.Thump. Love It!
Artificial Heart Valve Surgery & Living with Warfarin: UK Info Support Group
New to here. Awaiting surgery for replacement Aortic valve.
Hi All.
Les here, already found this site useful at first reading. I'm awaiting surgery to replace the bicuspid Aortic valve I was born with (plus a bit of the ascending Aorta)...not done too bad as done 50 years for me, lol. Have been through the anxieties about it and am resolved to having the op done - the alternatives are not an option anyway, it needs to be done. Biggest frustration has been that I've always been a fit hill and mountain walker until this last year, not being able to get up there has brought hard lifestyle change there. Hoping this valve will lead to eventual ability to do that again to some degree in the future. I'm being overseen by one Professor Bonser, so definitely in some of the best hands, if not THE best, in the country.
Interested reading the experiences from those of you already post op, both recent and longer term. Gives me an insight into what to expect afterwards. Going for the mechanical valve to avoid future surgery again cos of my age etc, so reading re Warfarin etc will be invaluable to me :-)
Cheers all, will be keeping an eye here often.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by James Cohen on -
Leslie, I had a MHV after 47 years, but cannot comment about the Aorta. But this is roughly what happened
- Operation started at 0830 and finished before 1300. However I took a long time to wake up, apparently it was nearly 2000. I was lucky and by-passed ICU and was moved to High Dependency.
- On day two I had tubes in my neck and hand, with pacing wires and drains in my chest. By lunch time they were making sure I could move and despite drips etc, I was moved into my chair. I was very tired, but was able to read a newspaper.
- On the third day, I was thrown out of HDU. I thought I would be put in a chair to be moved back, but 30 minutes later I was being told to walk back to my ward! It was about 50 yards away, and pushing drip etc and help from my wife, walked back.
- I did have a few problems, as my heart beat would not stablise and I kept going into AF. They tried shocking it, all sorts of medicine in the drips etc, but after a few weeks I was put onto Flecanide which I still take 7 years on, and it keeps my heart in a regular beat. The AF delayed recovery a little bit.
- By day 7 the physios had me walking a lot, up and downstairs and lots of regular walking. Also on day 7 the pacing wires, and drains were taken out. The removal of the drains was the worst part of the whole exercise - they just pull them out of your chest!
- Day nine and I was home (it would have been day 7 or 8, had it not been for the AF)!
- I took a little time to get over the operation, when I got home I was very tired and only went out for short walks, but within a couple of weeks I was walking about 1km a day. I still got tired.
- At week 8, I started cardio-rehab at the local hospital, and my strength improved rapidly.
- I returned to work after 13 weeks - which was when my employers let me back. I returned to work, working about 60% of full time for about 2-3 weeks, before returning full time.
Now 6 1/2 years on, I am far fitter, do not get tired during the day, and have far more energy. It is a major operation, but elective operation have a very good outcome. It does take time to recover, but it is probably far worse for our partners!
I would have thought that you will be taking short walks on the hills with 4-6 months of the operation, and as your strength returns you will be back to normal. You will be on Warfarin so you do need to be sensible about cuts and bruises (i.e. avoid them) but otherwise if you are sensible and don't let the Warfarin rule you, you will be find.
Good luck, look forward to hearing that the operation goes to plan, and you are soon back on the hills
James
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Permalink Reply by John French on -
Hi Les - I had my operation 6 weeks ago yesterday so fairly recently. Like you I had my bicuspid aortic valve replaced (ATS mechanical valve) along with the aortic root (aorta graft) as I had a significant aneurysm. I also had a pleural abrasion done on my right lung due to two previous pneumothorax's. This was done as an elective procedure.
I had my operation at St Georges hospital (London) under Professor Jahangiri as that is only a couple of miles from my house but I did have a consultation with Professor Bonser (recommended by a vascular surgeon friend of mine) earlier in the year when I was choosing a surgeon - Bonser and Jahangiri seem to be the top two in the country so you are in good hands there.
If it helps my experience was:
Day 1 - Operation started at 08:30 and was finished by 12:45. Moved to ICU and awake and talking to family around 16:45 when I was taken off ventilation and the tube removed. Difficult to talk much as throat sore from tube. Spent first night in ICU. Drips were removed when post operative pain killers were finished.
Day 2 - chest drains removed first thing in the morning and I was moved to the High Dependency ward and able to sit out in the chair. I also had one of the lines into the vein in my neck removed. The removal of the chest drains is slightly uncomfortable but it is over in the blink of a eye.
Day 3 - catheter removed, central line in neck removed and moved from HDU to the normal ward and was encouraged by medical team to start walking around the ward. Started taking Warfarin for the first time. Sternotomy Dressing removed and scar visible for the first time.
Day 4 - pacing wires removed. Able to do longer walks around the ward.
Day 5 - ECG, echocardiogram, chest Xray carried out as well as blood tests for INR
Day 6 - Physio's made we walk up stairs for the first time and I was discharged from hospital around lunchtime with a plastic bag full of drugs as my INR was at the bottom end of my target range.
Once at home I have been going out for walks each day - I was walking a mile around a local park within a few days and it has gradually built up over the last 6 weeks. I can easily walk 5 - 6 miles in one go now although mostly over gently undulating terrain rather than hills - but that is mainly because there aren't many hills near me.
I started my cardiac rehabilitation today - 6 weeks post op - and will be going twice a week for the next 6 - 8 weeks. It was good to exercise properly again and I think that my fitness will increase quite quickly as a result of the classes.
Hope this info is helpful and good luck with your operation - let us know how it goes. The key is to listen to your medical team but to also listen to your body - you will be able to gauge what you can and can't do.
It can be a little stressful for you and your partner when you first get home as you don't have medical experts on hand 24x7 - just take each day as it comes and ask for advice if you are not sure about something.
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Permalink Reply by Leslie Champion on -
Good evening :-)
Thanks to John and James, both wonderfully informative and reassuring there gents. I'm sure once days 2-3 are out of the way it will go well.....should do as my arteries and general basic fitness levels are good with only the valve and aortic root/ascending arch (maybe too) needing doing as thats limiting the general fitness bit. Already got my old supply of meditation CD's to counter the click-click etc at night time.
Lol, I was looking forward to having christmas week off work 1st time in 10 years and had hols booked for it...this isn't quite the way I expected to have the time off though. Ah well....worked out ok then.
Cheers
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Permalink Reply by John French on
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Les - after your op it might be worth looking at heartbeat river which was recommended by someone on this forum - probably Graham. It really has helped me get to sleep when the sound of the valve has kept me awake. You don't need to have it up loud as the sound of a gentle running stream seems to mask the sound of the valve by design rather than try and drown it out. You can download it in MP3 format from the CD baby website for very little ($3.49) which is cheaper than the likes of Amazon, etc. I just have it on my iPod and listen to via earphones it if I need it to help me drop off - it hasn't let me down yet. The composer is Alex Alexander Perica.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Mahler on -
Mike here from Oregon. This is my 6 month aniversary of my aortic replacement at age 41, now 42.... can't seem to stop the ageing...LOL! I had no clue about my Bi-Cus valve until Jan of this year. Had somme UN-relater chest pain (gastro related) and found the valve regurgatating at about 60-70%. So, May 19th, had the surgery....
Day 1 : Went in at 0700, was out and awake by around 1500. I had a hard time coming out of the sleep.... was in ICU that day, but moved the next morning to a regular room.
Day 2: moved into the regular room, and started walking around the hospital wing, 1/2 a lap, 2 times that day. Had the wire and drain tubes, and lots of pain meds on board.
Day 3: started getting warfarin and was able to move in and out of bed. Walked full laps, 3 times or so during the day. Lots of pain meds that made me sleep lots. Chest hurt, but I expected that, and it was not that bad.
Day 4: Asked to stop the pain meds during the day so I could get up and walk more. Made 5 laps through out the day, and stuck with just Tylenol during the day, but took the stronger meds at night. Got a shower and shave, that felt wounderful!!!!
Day 5: felt much better, was walking 5-6 times a day, one or two laps, and I would get up at night and walk a lap as well. I decided going in that moving early was my best bet. Didn't mention this, but used the breathing excersiser ALL the time....
Day 6: INR was starting to get to 2.0.... I have super liver I guess... was walking all the time, wife got to push me around and we went down to the main floor, got real food (although the food where I was rocked!) and a Pepsi... YES!
Day 7: INR was 1.9, so they said they would keep me one more day, then the sergeon said nope, and sent me home. I did eat some pain pills for the trip home, but I managed to walk into the local store fo other scripts and some shopping then went home.
I started walking up and down my driveway (1/4 mile) the day I got home, and just stretched it out each day. I would be beat when I got back, and slept alot, but by 2 weeks after the surgery I was walking 2 miles a day. I was back light duty at work as the police chief in 5 weeks, and now I am unemployed waiting on a disibility retierment decision from the state, as the blood thinners kept me from returning to the cop life. (Small town, I have to work the street and handle calls, back-up.... sooo)
I feel good... The warfarin is setteling in well, some diet changes, but mainly just constants.... had my first dentist visit, that caused some anxity, but it all went well. Huge dose of antibiotics hour before and after the cleaning. gums bled for a few hours, but it's all good now.
Thats about it.... the ticking is no big deal, and I just treat it as a party trick. People ask about it sometimes, so I let them listen... it's part of me, so I embrace it.
Keep us posted on how your doing.....
Mike
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Permalink Reply by Pradeep on -
Hello Les,
I had my op on 3rd Nov, a triple bypass and aortic valve replacement. Came back home on day 6. Surgery day being 0. The heart will get fixed and work great. The strains of surgery is the part which needs recovery. Younger patients (below 60) recover sooner. Give it 4 to 6 weeks, expect weakness on the way. Warfarin and INR levels take time to adjust, so just be patient. I have already started my 15 to 20 min walks and looking forward to more exercise.
I did ask for a On X heart valve. Initially was told that it depends on the surgeon as to what they are comfortable with (a St Jude's in this case), but was surprised and pleasantly happy to know that they had put in a On X. The real difference is dependence on Warfarin, which is still being researched.
You will be fine and all the best.
Cheers
Pradeep
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Permalink Reply by Leslie Champion on
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Hi All....
Soon be my time to report progress I hope. Finally have a provisional date of 22nd December for my op. All I want fpr xmas is a new aortic valve, lol. Best wishes to all out there...have a great xmas if I dont manage to get back on here before the event :-)
Les
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Permalink Reply by James Cohen on
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That is good news - albeit you will be stuck in hospital for Christmas - but I am sure you will be home for New Year. You might well be quite tired, so you may well be sound asleep by mid-night. It is important not to do, too much, too early.
Look forward to hearing that the operation goes well.
James
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Permalink Reply by John French on
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Les - goods news you have a date now and you can get on and get it done. We are looking forward to seeing you back online soon.
Happy Xmas
John
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Permalink Reply by Leslie Champion on
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Gutted just now! Was admitted, pre medded, consented....left to wait after being told I was first on the list. Just been told its cancelled. Sorry to offload but this feels very difficult after getting mentally prepared so much. Hope you guys are well.
Les
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Permalink Reply by Neil Buckland on -
Hello Leslie,
Sorry to hear about the cancellation. I know how you feel..I have another 12 months to wait and don't know if I can deal with the anxiety for that long. I hope they give you a new date very soon. Best wishes,
Neil
Leslie Champion said:Gutted just now! Was admitted, pre medded, consented....left to wait after being told I was first on the list. Just been told its cancelled. Sorry to offload but this feels very difficult after getting mentally prepared so much. Hope you guys are well.
Les
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Permalink Reply by Pradeep on
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Hello Leslie,
Not unusual as they go on to more urgent cases.Happened in my case. I know it adds to the anxiety. Being a very intuitive and philosophical yet pragmatic person ... I can tell you that everything happens for the good.
The procedure ( I had a bypass and valve replacement) is 95% psychological before the operation and a matter of regimen after it. Enjoy the season till then.
Cheers
Pradeep
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