Triathlon Completed!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mike Mahler on December 19, 2011 at 5:30

Good for you.  I have just started running again in prep for the Sprint here in town.  Participated in 09-10, and ran the finish line events last year as I was aony months out of surgery.  So of course now there not doing the Tri...LOL!  But I have located a few more that I will do this summer.  Gotta work off a little of the weight I gained.  My damn appitite came back mugh faster that the Dr. permission to exercise... SOOOOO.... Now I can hit it.  doing 2 miles a day, running and walking when needed.

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Alan on December 19, 2011 at 6:16

Fantastic Mike!  It is great to hear others who are gearing up to do triathlons.  I see every tri I compete in as a gift and love doing them, and I hear you about the diet, I reckon they implanted a sugar gene in my body along with the valve as I can't stop eating them!  All in moderation as they say is the key.  Looking forward to hearing how you went in the sprint over there, I am sure with the training you are doing you will breeze it in!

Cheers

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Permalink Reply by Mike Mahler on December 19, 2011 at 17:44

I will keep you posted.  I actually did my first sprint as motivation to learn to swim.  I never learned as a kid, and I am very afraid of the water.  I swim SOOO slow, but I get it done.  I have finished 4 sprints, and loved every one.... well... most of every one.  One of them the water was 54 degrees.... BRRRRRRR....

I am not speedy, a back-of-the-pack finisher, but I do it for me, and no one else. 

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Hay on January 9, 2012 at 23:27

wow alan, im so happy to see mhv's can do it. when i  went in for my op i was dealing with having to give up most of my pastimes, like footy heavy drinkng and horseriding. As a means of staying positive and having a goal i said i wanted to complete a tri. since the surgery ive been dealing with what i assume is similar to what you have described as valve related anxiety and have  taken my self to the ED only to be told everything looks fine on 2 occasions. your account and others on here has realy helped and im happy to say my training can start again now as i have been able to relax alot more with the different sounding beats and occasional strange rythem.

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Permalink Reply by Alan on January 10, 2012 at 1:03

Hi Daniel

Great to hear you are starting on your training regime.  It is natural for us MHV's to feel anxious about the valve but be reassured they work, and work well!  My cardiologist advised that moderate exercise over endurance events would be wiser however he also said to listen to your body (how can we not!)  I feel I am getting fitter and the valve can handle triathlons, having said that I don't go really hard, I do pace myself and enjoy the experience of being able to complete them - I will never be in the Olympics! 

I guess as another member on here posted 'we cannot avoid death if it is fear of death that is making us anxious'.  In saying that he said to 'live life' in the moment, don't waste it on fear.  I have been doing that for a while now though the odd occasion still creeps in where I feel the worst I just remember, it is normal, and will pass.

In respect to heavy drinking although it is not recommended due to the INR fluctuations I do have the odd occasion where I drink more than the standard quota so to speak.  I have a home INR test kit and I test my INR regularly to ensure lifestyle habits such as drinking, diet, sleeping patterns etc do not send it too crazy.  I take a lower dose of warfarin on the day I have a few drinks to counteract the effect, so if managed correctly you are still able to let your hair down once in a while.

Like you though I have had to give up playing footy and all contact sports, except I still play basketball, yes not supposed to be a contact sport but you still get whacked now and then, and I get a nice bruise as a result.  I enjoy it and there are all sorts of risks in life, can't be held back is my motto! 

All the best mate

Daniel Hay said:

wow alan, im so happy to see mhv's can do it. when i  went in for my op i was dealing with having to give up most of my pastimes, like footy heavy drinkng and horseriding. As a means of staying positive and having a goal i said i wanted to complete a tri. since the surgery ive been dealing with what i assume is similar to what you have described as valve related anxiety and have  taken my self to the ED only to be told everything looks fine on 2 occasions. your account and others on here has realy helped and im happy to say my training can start again now as i have been able to relax alot more with the different sounding beats and occasional strange rythem.

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Permalink Reply by SImon Norie on January 12, 2012 at 12:43

Hi. I am new on and had surgery 01/04/2010 - it was Aortic arch, Aortic root and associated MHV (Aorta obviously). I ran at week 5 and biked at week 6. I have found little advice on what you can/can't do sports wise and would welcome a swap of idea/experiences with anyone attempting to build fitness back especially at a reasonable level and for endurance related events.

Having Read what Alan is up to it has made me think there are others hitting the exercise routines and it might be good to share some specific experiences. So  bit about me as background:

I have had a good recovery and despite being told it would not happen am now only on Warfarin having got the Cardio team to sign me off beta's and ACE after my 6 month scan and agreement to return to full training after 12 months.

However I am back for an early 24 month check as I have still had some TIA's and whilst I push to 147 average heart rate on the bike (max 185) I did notice an increase in 'symptoms' when I went back to serious interval work (treadmill and rower max effort work), so backed off that and things seem to have settled down. But I do still have a nagging concern that the Cardio teams are not experienced in people who (by the way it is worth saying the team who treated me were/are fantastic - this is about doing stuff that might be outside their experience) were exercising to a high level.

I hope that is not too long a first post and to sum up I am looking to share experience associated with high exercise levels. For ref I was doing 10k in 38/40min and my average bike over 40-60k runs would be 27km/hour. My run is now more like 47 (but I don't push too hard) and my bike is about the same pace, but I tend to stick to 20-40k distance. My Olympic tri time was 1hr 34min and no I have not tried one since..

I was symptomless before the surgery (discovered by work routine medical which led to discovery of an Aortic anurism requiring imediate surgery), hence what some might consider a slightly irrational desire to push the fitness envelope, but equally very glad to be here, so it definately push, not break!

So good to hear your Tri's are going well Alan and if you/anyone else wants to ask/share more I for one would be greatful!

Ta

Simon

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Permalink Reply by Alan on April 22, 2012 at 11:20

hi again... well the triathlon season is over here in Perth, Aust for another year.  I completed 4 sprint distance tri's and my first Olympic distance tri 1500/40k/10k in 3:05:36.  Suffice to say I was stuffed after that!   I asked my cardiologist about doing triathlons and his response was 'moderate exercise, not endurance events would be a wise decision'.  He never said why but obviously the stress on the heart over a longer period of time would be up there.  I dig a little further at my next check-up.  I live for the moment people, listen to your body, listen to your heart, I think is the best advice.  Be great to hear how othe MHV's are doing in their respective sporting pursuits. 

 

Alan

AVR - June 1999 aged 25 years, now 38 years and strong!

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Permalink Reply by Alan on May 2, 2012 at 2:26

Hi  Simon

Sounds like you have a similar training / level output to me.  Has your cardiologist advised on endurance events in respect to your MHV and arrthymias? 

Cheers

SImon Norie said:

Hi. I am new on and had surgery 01/04/2010 - it was Aortic arch, Aortic root and associated MHV (Aorta obviously). I ran at week 5 and biked at week 6. I have found little advice on what you can/can't do sports wise and would welcome a swap of idea/experiences with anyone attempting to build fitness back especially at a reasonable level and for endurance related events.

Having Read what Alan is up to it has made me think there are others hitting the exercise routines and it might be good to share some specific experiences. So  bit about me as background:

I have had a good recovery and despite being told it would not happen am now only on Warfarin having got the Cardio team to sign me off beta's and ACE after my 6 month scan and agreement to return to full training after 12 months.

However I am back for an early 24 month check as I have still had some TIA's and whilst I push to 147 average heart rate on the bike (max 185) I did notice an increase in 'symptoms' when I went back to serious interval work (treadmill and rower max effort work), so backed off that and things seem to have settled down. But I do still have a nagging concern that the Cardio teams are not experienced in people who (by the way it is worth saying the team who treated me were/are fantastic - this is about doing stuff that might be outside their experience) were exercising to a high level.

I hope that is not too long a first post and to sum up I am looking to share experience associated with high exercise levels. For ref I was doing 10k in 38/40min and my average bike over 40-60k runs would be 27km/hour. My run is now more like 47 (but I don't push too hard) and my bike is about the same pace, but I tend to stick to 20-40k distance. My Olympic tri time was 1hr 34min and no I have not tried one since..

I was symptomless before the surgery (discovered by work routine medical which led to discovery of an Aortic anurism requiring imediate surgery), hence what some might consider a slightly irrational desire to push the fitness envelope, but equally very glad to be here, so it definately push, not break!

So good to hear your Tri's are going well Alan and if you/anyone else wants to ask/share more I for one would be greatful!

Ta

Simon

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Permalink Reply by SImon Norie on May 2, 2012 at 21:21

Hi Alan

My return to the cardiologist confirmed that I have been having minor stroke events. I have seen a neurologist post MRI scan who showed me how the events had impacted my brain. Summary was that I had definitely had 'events' as evidenced by the tissue damage in my brain, but that it was not possible to say if the high intensity training had done it. By the way this sounds worse than it is. The consult ended with him agreeing with the summary 'the damage was permanent, but in isolation of no significant concern - as long as it stopped' which it has.

The cardiologist did say he was flabbergasted at what I was capable of with the MHV, but did advise backing off the intense interval work. Both the cardiologist and neurologist stated continued exercise was very much advised, however I should avoid 'competition' effort and keep away from intense heart rate peaking. The cardiologist preference was for long steady effort - this did not include a specific view on endurance events, but he knows I do 80-100k rides and 15k runs and has not said to stop. That's said I am not sure what his reaction would be to the suggestion of an ironman!

I am now on aspirin and warfarin and have another review in June. Appologies if this is a bit of a long answer, but the point remains that people who exercise to a high level post MHV remain a minority and the cardio world has limited answers/experience.

For some reason I recollect a caution on endurance events in humid/very hot environments, but I can't remember where this comes from. I am intending to tailor my training to 60-70% of max heart rate and to take peakiness out, so pyramiding yes I.e. 5% effort increment vs sprint/hill work.

So in summary for me - high intensity max heart rate activity is a no. 60-70% effort for 1-3 hours seems ok (130-155 HR). Prolonged activity over say 4-5 hours, not sure, but I think at this level as long as yr feeding and hydrating, the issue - if any, must be potential impact on clotting/warfarin effectiveness, and thats way outside anything I can have a view on, but I am going to ask my cardiologist in June.

I will post anything I find, and as I always say I expect everyone of our experiences is different.

Many thanks

Simon

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Permalink Reply by Alan on May 3, 2012 at 1:48

Thanks Simon, I agree with you that cardiologists arent really sure on what level of exercise is achievable with MHV patients.  I was told by my surgeon that I could get back to pre-op physical activity 12yrs ago when I had my MHV implanted, this view has somewhat changed from my cardiologist.  I am seeking another opinion from another cardiologist - will let you know what he advises.  

In respect to MHR, I too agree that 60-70% MHR is the way to go.  I don't race competitively in my tri's, usually come in at the back of the pack and around 1h30m for a sprint distance (750m/20k/5k).  In respect to longer distances I did do for the first time an Olympic distance (1.5/40k/10k) in 3:05:00.  I am unsure on what my avg HR would have been as didnt wear my HR monitor but may have been a little higher than 60-70% MHR.  I do not do anaerobic type exercise (weight lifting, squash etc) but more so aerobic exercise (cycling, jogging, swimming = triathlons!)

My cardiologists view is not so much the clotting/warfarin effectiveness when doing long distance events, but the risk of VT, or 'bad' rhythm disturbances due from the MHV.  I too plan, as you are, in asking the second cardiologist of these risks, along with the clotting effectiveness.  May I ask, your minor stroke events, what symptoms did you have and are these related in anyway to warfarin and/or your MHV?  What type of aortic MHV do you have?

I do enjoy triathlons and have been participating in them for 3 years without incident, and been exercising pretty much every day since the MHV was implanted 12yrs ago.  I am reasonably fit but obviously as you are doing, seeking some assurances that endurance events are fine, and yes, not ironmans!  As I find out my info too I will share with the forum.

Cheers

SImon Norie said:

Hi Alan

My return to the cardiologist confirmed that I have been having minor stroke events. I have seen a neurologist post MRI scan who showed me how the events had impacted my brain. Summary was that I had definitely had 'events' as evidenced by the tissue damage in my brain, but that it was not possible to say if the high intensity training had done it. By the way this sounds worse than it is. The consult ended with him agreeing with the summary 'the damage was permanent, but in isolation of no significant concern - as long as it stopped' which it has.

The cardiologist did say he was flabbergasted at what I was capable of with the MHV, but did advise backing off the intense interval work. Both the cardiologist and neurologist stated continued exercise was very much advised, however I should avoid 'competition' effort and keep away from intense heart rate peaking. The cardiologist preference was for long steady effort - this did not include a specific view on endurance events, but he knows I do 80-100k rides and 15k runs and has not said to stop. That's said I am not sure what his reaction would be to the suggestion of an ironman!

I am now on aspirin and warfarin and have another review in June. Appologies if this is a bit of a long answer, but the point remains that people who exercise to a high level post MHV remain a minority and the cardio world has limited answers/experience.

For some reason I recollect a caution on endurance events in humid/very hot environments, but I can't remember where this comes from. I am intending to tailor my training to 60-70% of max heart rate and to take peakiness out, so pyramiding yes I.e. 5% effort increment vs sprint/hill work.

So in summary for me - high intensity max heart rate activity is a no. 60-70% effort for 1-3 hours seems ok (130-155 HR). Prolonged activity over say 4-5 hours, not sure, but I think at this level as long as yr feeding and hydrating, the issue - if any, must be potential impact on clotting/warfarin effectiveness, and thats way outside anything I can have a view on, but I am going to ask my cardiologist in June.

I will post anything I find, and as I always say I expect everyone of our experiences is different.

Many thanks

Simon

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Permalink Reply by SImon Norie on May 3, 2012 at 8:10

Hi Alan

The symptoms were loss of fine motor control in my right arm or leg (did not have at the same time) I would describe this as akin to the feeling you get if you sleep in a funny position on your arm and on waking have a brief period where your arms does not feel totally under your control. The symptoms were mild - I continued to run when it happened to my leg - and transient lasting no more than 30secs to a min. I had about 6 occurances of this type of effect. On one occasion the right side of my face slumped - similar feeling to having injections at the dentist. This was enough to mean I slurred my speech, but that was due to control of the facial muscles. Again this was transient, but it was the one that caused me to get referred back to the cardiologist.

In terms of view of what caused them, I am not sure I will get a definative answer. Prior to my op I had low grade migraine and that can cause some similar symptoms, hence the trip to the Neurologist. However the view of the neurologist was that the transient nature (and the scan information which showed a number of damaged sites - not one) ruled out association with a migraine and he felt it was much more likely to be attributed to either the operation itself (no matter how advanced the bypass systems are they use during surgery his opinion was some clotting 'fluff' gets into the brain) or had occured post operatively and was the cause/after effect of my mild symptoms

The Cardiologist had me scanned for valve function incase any clotting had ocured. It is however functioning perfectly. The valve is a St Judes and was the next to largest size available - I did not ask much about this as my surgery was reasonably rushed and the advice I had was that you should go with the surgeons choice as they like to work with ones they are familiar with and a 'good fit' is the main criterior.

He did not raise any concerns of VT issues, but I will ask him as he may have the concern, but have not voiced them. For example this might be what was behind his comment that he was flabbergasted at the level of exercise I was capable of. The reason I am now on Aspirin is due to it's ability to help prevent strokes despite not usually being used with warfarin. So he does have some concern, but no definate answer.

All that said your approach to exercise seems to be exactly as he was advocating - or at least is now. It is worth saying again that the physio team I saw briefly were expressed concerns about anyone other than monitored athlete doing the level of exercise that 'some' people were doing, specifically regular max heart rate training, irrespective of having a MHV.

As I find anything else out I will share it - Again just to re-iterate I have no events since I quite the high intensity routines so in terms of cause the Cardiologist was happy to go with this simple cause and effect approach, unless things change!

Many thanks

Simon

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Permalink Reply by Kev A on May 7, 2012 at 18:14

Wow, a triathlon - always was a goal of mine. 

It's great to hear a MHV doesn't stop you.  

Doubt a triathlon in the North of England would be anything like WA tho!

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