Anemia

[Lyndon68]

Has anybody suffered with anemia after aortic valve replacement?

[Mary_Janet]

No I managed to dodge that one. I believe that I had a two unit blood transfusion post operation but as I was basically asleep for two days so missed quite a few things that happened. Hope you are not too exhausted or feeling the cold too much.

Dried apricots, dark chocolate, green veg (difficult if you are on warfarin), meat and beans, strawberries and rasps are all good dietary sources of iron but I guess you might be on tablets.

[Fredders]

I did get anaemia but it was several years after my AVR so don’t think it was linked.

[lifelover55]

Yes, I had anemia before and post AVR but had a transfusion in ICU. I'm not taking iron tablets - just eating more red meat, beans, strawberries - as Mary_Janet has suggested. I'm losing weight though even though I'm eating a lot - not sure if that is related - waiting to see consultant.

[Shar28]

Hello, my husband’s iron level dropped after his AVR surgery but hospital weren’t concerned at discharge. About 4 weeks later it was something like 10.5, not hugely low, and GP gave him a month of iron tablets. From what the hospital said at his post-op review after another 4 weeks it’s very common. Hope this helps. And of course if you have concerns your GP or hospital ward you were on will help (they should have given you a number to call for any post-discharge concerns) or the BHF nurses on their helpline.