Possible Clot on Prosthetic Valve

Hello all,

I had a replacement aortic valve in 2017 and all seemed well until about 2/3 weeks after having the Covid booster in October 2021. Each night when I put my head on the pillow I would hear a pounding in my ears and neck and my heart would be beating "forcefully" making it difficult to sleep. I told myself that I probably had a problem with my ears and that it would right itself. As I have always kept a diary of my blood pressure - being one of those whose pressure shoots through the roof the minute I enter the doctor's surgery - I thought I ought to check it, and I found the systolic reading very high for me being around the 160 mark. I thought after a few days with it not returning to lower readings that I ought to speak to my doctor. From there she arranged an echocardiogram which was originally due in 2020, and this was eventually carried out in January of this year.

When I received the results of the echo it seems that the prosthetic valve is not working very well and the cardiologist has stated that "it is conceivable that there maybe some thrombus across the aortic prosthesis" and he prescribed me Apixaban blood thinners and will arrange for another echocardiogram in about 3 months time.

My question is has anyone had a similar experience to me, or had heart problems following the Covid vaccine, as according to a pamphlet I read recently and didn't know existed, there is a slim chance of myocarditis and pericarditis following the vaccination, although my doctor assures me that this would have shown up on the echo.

Many thanks for reading this.

Uppercombe