visual disturbances/temporary blindness following valve surgery

[kasinc88]

Ever since my mitral valve repair on 3rd March, I have had a range of visual disturbances - flashing lights, moving wavy lines in my peripheral vision, shapes in the centre of my vision, but yesterday I went completely blind in one eye for a couple of minutes. The vision gradually came back over about 3 more minutes from bottom to top.

As this was new, I rang my GP who sent me to A&E where I spent 5 hours yesterday and went back to the TIA clinic today.

They think a cholesterol plaque broke off from my carotid artery as a result of the surgery and caused this, but I am still not convinced, as I have had so many weird visual disturbances anyway, and wonder whether this was just another one.

Are these weird visual things common, and how long do they last?

[VelvetSky]

Hi Kasinc88, are you on Ivabradine, my consultant has taken me off it as I was seeing black lines and black snakes on the floor. It has stopped since I stopped taking it but I still experience aura without migraine and suspect it’s one of the other medications causing it but cannot pin it down.

I’ve had short periods of less sight and I know how scary it must have been for you.

[kasinc88 in reply to VelvetSky]

Hi. No I am not taking anything out of the ordinary. When the visual disturbances began in hospital I had trouble convincing my visitors the only painkillers I was taking were paracetamol. Some people were convinced I was being given morphine which was causing hallucinations. That was even more frustrating!

I recognise what you say tho. I sometimes catch a glimpse of what appears to be spiders on the floor but is actually wiggly black lines.

Fortunately I don’t have a problem with spiders!

[JayceeW]

Hi Kasinc88,

I had my aortic valve replaced and a double bypass last May, at the age of 76. I certainly recognise what you are saying. I started to experience crescent shaped, shimmering visual disturbances a few weeks/months before my op. Drew this to the attention of my optitian. There was nothing wrong with my eyes. She thought it might be due to the blood restriction. I mentioned it to my consultant before the op but he didn’t seem concerned.

After the op when I was reading a magazine whole sections of the print would seem to slip. It did ease off but I still get the periodic irredescent crescents with no headache and sometimes black lines passing over my field of vision. Told my GP this recently but she said it was nothing to be concerned about.

Let me know if you get any answers.

Hope everything progresses well for you.

[kasinc88 in reply to JayceeW]

Hi. That sounds very familiar although mine only started after the op. I get iridescent crescents right in the middle of my field of vision sometimes too.

The hospital told me to get checked out by the optician too.

If I find out any more, I will let you know.

[Tlyna in reply to JayceeW]

I am 71 and used to get those iridescent crescents with migraines after a head injury decades ago. The headaches haven't been around for a long time but i continued to get the flashes once in a great while. Since my TAVR at the beginning of the month I have had them several times a day along with bright flashes in tear drop shape although now they are mainly black and white.

[headorheart]

Hi. I am 12 days after AVR op (tissue valve) and am 48. I have found the recovery much better than expected but have suffered similar to you with these visual disturbances . I had a couple of what my GP said were occlusional migraines before surgery. She was unbothered and said stress/hormones/tiredness can trigger them. I only had aura but no real headache. Since surgery I have experienced more than usual where my eyesight goes zig zaggy for up to 15/30 mins then back to normal. Also little lights swimming in eyes. I saw a nurse yesterday when I had stitches out and she suggested it could be down to the bisoprodol!? She took my BP which was normal but did suggest if I get another episode to come in and get it remeasured in case it’s a sign it’s high or low . I guess if too early to know what’s causing it and will ask my cardio surgeon when i see him but my gut feeling is that we have taken a big battering with this surgery and anaesthesia and it’s hardly surprising our bodies are acting up a bit. I’m hoping in time the visual issue (which is not severe) will get better. Good luck with your recovery

[Plumbtorre]

Hi kain

I had a mitral valve replacement and triple bypass almost a year ago. After 6 months I also had wavy lines. Flashing lights and a cobweb in my vision in one eye. My optician thought it mat be the beginning of a cataract but when I saw the specialist he confirmed that it was minute blood leaks in my retina probably due to my blood thinners and was nothing to worry about for now. He said if it got worse to see him , but to be honest it is generaly better than when I saw him and some days has no effect at all

[Galileo]

Hi Kasinc88

I got flashing lights straight after the op which I mentioned to anyone who would listen. Nobody in the hospital was particularly bothered - one doctor suggested cranial nerve damage or bruising might have happened during the op and that it was likely to improve with time, which it has.

I've had auras, the shimmering crescents, all of my life, and these did increase in frequency for a few months after the op, sometimes taking out half my vision for a few minutes. The flashing lights stopped a while back happily. I'm also still on bisoprolol - will be interesting to see if there's any change as and when I do stop taking it.

All the best.

Richard

[Qualipop in reply to Galileo]

Hey, funny, I get those auras- nothing to do with my heart attack. It' s just that you're the first person I've ever found who also gets them. They are called ocular migraines; last about 20 minutes but no headache. Had them for years.

[Galileo in reply to Qualipop]

My sister and my dad get them too, so I guess there's a genetic link. I do get a bit tired sometimes, after an episode, but that's as bad as it gets. Weird.

[Tlyna in reply to Qualipop]

I too have had them for decades rarely but since my TAVR at the beginning of this month they have been daily. No pain, just the flashing lights.

[Qualipop in reply to Tlyna]

Goodness that post of mine was 5 years ago. Oddly I haven't had them since. I'd check with your optician just to be sure it's nothing else. I didn't get flashing lights, just strange angular gleaming shapes. Flashing lights can be a sign of the retina detaching which would need urgent treatment.

[Tlyna in reply to Qualipop]

I get these weird, almost like tear drop flashes but also the same migraine aura flashes I have had for decades although for most of those years without the accompanying headaches. It is just for those years it was only occasional, not frequent like now and I never had them like that or those tear drop type until post op. I have also had several surgeries since 1996 but nothing at all like this until the TAVR.

[Qualipop in reply to Tlyna]

The auras are like mine; no headache. but no flashes. I know that any anaesthetic affects your sight. An optician years ago told me to never have my eyes tested within 6 months of an anaesthetic but I do think these flashes need investigating.

[Tlyna in reply to Qualipop]

I am going to have it checked. Will be talking to my cardiologist this afternoon and then going with his recommendations. Not playing around with my vision

[Qualipop in reply to Tlyna]

Perfect solution.

[Tlyna in reply to Qualipop]

I talked with him about the problem and damn I should have read the pamphlet that came with the medication. I love grapefruit, have it every day. Well that increases the potency of the drug in your system. I didn't have any fruit today and the problem gradually went away until just a few small tear drop flashes. it may be something else besides grapefruit for others. I'm hoping I won't have to stay on this damned Plavix (Clopidogrel) for too long.

[Qualipop in reply to Tlyna]

I was never told about grapefruit when on clopidogrel and I never read the leaflets or the possible side effects would scare me to death. Thankfully I don't eat grapefruit. I do know it shouldn't be eaten with several meds. Glad you found out.

[Tlyna in reply to Qualipop]

I live now in a sub tropical area where they are grown so common and not that expensive, fortunately for me being as I love them. Before I moved here I rarely had it.

[13allit]

Hi

I had mitral valve repair last year and was part of a study so had mri scans before and after my surgery. One was of my brain. Apparently there is the risk of small bleeds in the brain after heart surgery and I’d had some of these. I was told there was nothing to be alarmed about as they were so small and usually clear over time but the study was showing a lot of these. I’ve had a few migraine type episodes without the headache and these have got much less over time. I usually get the visual disturbances when I get them. It’s 11 months since my surgery and I’d completely forgotten about them until your post. Most people aren’t aware of anything like this as we tend not to have head mri scans! Hope it all clears up soon and it’s nothing to worry about.

[Qualipop]

Are you on Bisopralol? That made me see huge black snakes on the floor , walls and ceiling. Hallucinations. They terrified me until I realised what they were.

[kasinc88]

Thanks for all the replies. Fascinating to hear all your experiences.

I am taking bisoprolol since the op which several people have mentioned. Maybe when my system gets used to it it will settle down. I often find I take a while to adjust to new drugs.

It’s amazing how this surgery messes up your whole system. I am looking forward to the day when my senses of smell and taste go back to normal. I hate it when I order something I usually love to eat then when it arrives it tastes revolting to me!

[Hiking_Girl]

Add me to the list of those with mild visual disturbance after valve surgery. I had really painful migraines with no aura for years until the menopause. Now, 15 yrs on and a week after OHS AVR I have the auras but no headaches. I see a small crescent, like a shimmering black and white chess board. It expands and disappears off the edges in about 30 minutes. This happened 3 times in one day in hospital and surgeon was not concerned. I also see occasional bright specks of light shooting across my vision like fireworks. What I've read seems to indicate that it will resolve eventually. 🤞

[Tlyna in reply to Hiking_Girl]

Same here since my TAVR at the beginning of the month. It was worrying me until I found this page. Will just keep track of it and see if it goes away.

[Tlyna]

I also had the same thing happen after my TAVI. It started a couple of days after and got really bad for about a week with it happening several times a day then began to taper off. I still get kind of like silver teardrops shoot past my vision occasionally but the flashing lights and wavy lines have subsided to once in a while. Don't know what caused it. I'm now on Plavix and wonder if that is causing it because I started the medication the day after the procedure.

[ScottC2023]

Same here! I'm one year post op from aortic valve replacement. Was having visual disturbances (temporary loss of vision in one eye) and seeing "silver streaks" in vision. Saw optometrist and ophthamologist and nothing wrong with eyes. Mentioned to cardiologist and they had no idea. Could be neurological damage from heart/lung bypass (lack of sufficient oxygen)? It's gradually gotten less frequent but still happens and is concerning to me. Hope you all find an answer to your issues.