hi I’m new to this group and am looking for some advice and comments please.
I’m going to be having mitral valve replacement or repair also Atrium valve replacement or repair. How long did you take to get back to any sort of normality? Can you give me any tips or advice please.
thank you
Sally
Hi,
I had Aortic valve replaced and and bypass done 6 years ago. For the first 8-10 weeks there is no lifting anything heavier than half a kettle of water no arms above your head and no pulling or pushing movements. This is to let your sternum heal. You will be given breathing exercises by the physios in hospital I called them huffing and puffing! Keep doing them when you get home. Your lungs also take a hit as they collapse when we are on bypass, so they need a bit of help getting all those little pockets filled out again. Listen to your body if it says I am tired you rest, follow all the instructions you are given gentle walking to start with building up gradually.
If you are offered cardio rehab take it, I found it invaluable not just for building up my stamina but for my mental health, being around others who have been through what you have is so good. Someone will say I have this niggle and you think me too , oh that’s alright it’s normal!
Any questions just post and someone will be along to help.
Best wishes Pauline
Hi....I am in hospital at the mo having had the same valves done last Wednesday .... I was told replace but they have both been repaired which Is fantastic..I wd think it's quite difficult to say how long will it take to get any normality as we are all so different. The guidelines are 6 weeks really before you can get back to doing things properly but long term I would think it depends on your determination and attitude. As the physio said to me if you have severe regurgitation, your heart and body have been under tremendous stress. The op is done but your heart and body have to find that new normal. It's steps forwards and some back. If you want to private message me at any time please feel free to do so. Cheers x
Apologies....mine were mitral and tricuspid repairs x
Sally. I had a triple bypass procedure and as with most open heart surgery the guidelines are around 12/16 weeks to be near to normal. Some here suggests six weeks. Rehab does not start until six weeks for OHS. That’s about half way. Regardless your body will be the judge and as long as you don’t overdo anything then time is a great healer. Slowly slowly is the key for long term benefits. Good luck and follow your cardio team and ask lots of questions.
Hello & Welcome Sally 
I had a triple Bypass and you have had some good advice which I cannot add to but just wanted to welcome you and wish you all the best with your operation and look forward to hearing how your recovery is going when you have had it done x
I I had my quadruple bypass 9 weeks ago and I think, I’m sure I could do that then pay the price after, I’ve just lifter a vase of flowers to throw out but I never thought of the wait of the water now my chest is pulled and hurting again. Surgeon said I could drive after 8 weeks well I could but he didn’t tell me how much that would hurt. The big one is your mental health, I’m sure you’ve read loads on here my own included, many people suffer with coming to terms with everything. If does happen to you and I hope it doesn’t don’t be proud and don’t hang around speak to either the cardio side at hospital or your go and get some help.Quite a lot of negatives I know but then it’s a major op but after saying that I was amazed how quick I got up and started life again, it’s amazing really.
Good luck but you’ll be fine.
Martin
Hi Sally, welcome to the forum. I’ve had two mitral valve replacements and a tricuspid valve repair in sept 21 and Jan 22. Following the second op it took about 3 months for my ribs to heal although the incision was closed and healed within about 4 weeks (my skin heals slowly). I started walking within 2 weeks of discharge from hospital and slowly built my fitness up. Breathing exercises are important as your lungs need inflating again. I’d had a prolonged stay in hospital prior to my second surgery so I was fairly deconditioned when I left. That was a huge factor in my recovery because I’d basically spent 2 months hardly moving. I started cardiac rehab in June and completed it at the end of July and my fitness had improved by 30% from start to finish. I had a number of complications so I definitely think it took me longer to get back on my feet. Each of us are individuals and you may bounce back much more quickly. Go easy at first and build your strength up. Good luck. X
Hi - I had aortic valve replacement in December and I feel amazing !!! better than I have for a very long time ! By 6 weeks post op I couldn’t believe how well I felt and it’s been the best gift ever ! (I’m 62 ) I was back to work at 12 weeks snd spent last weekend dancing and camping at a music festival !! Unthinkable a year ago ! The energy and vitality I feel now compared to before is astonishing!!!
. Do exactly as they tell you in hospital get up move about (it’s easy to just lie there ) but get moving it aids recovery get walking and keep walking ! It’s a very scary situation your going into , mine felt surreal and still does … . but these surgeons and staff are incredible they know their jobs listen to them and in about 6 weeks time you will be feeling awesome !! I love my scar it’s given me a whole new lease of life The beat goes on !!!
Good luck x
Fantastic and well done. State of mind and determination ....great assets. Hope all continues to go well xx
Dear Sally, I had Aortic V R and triple bypass a year ago, besides the pain I had quite a few months of trouble with constipation (never before), resulted from opiads, you have to push but you must not, at the same time. I felt much better pretty quickly but have retained a feeling of soreness around the metalwork in my chest, not all the time and it is more after stretching exercises but it is likely to be there until I snuff it. I followed a daily program of a 3 mile wok routine (Lesley Sansone YouTube), stretching exercises and weights. I have built up to this over the year. 2 weeks ago I had my first game of tennis for 25 years, it is so good to feel younger again.
One thing I would suggest is to move to a plant based diet cholesterol levels, blood pressure and general well being are much improved (no statins and minimal BP meds) and, if you need to, work hard to get into the mid range of BMI- it's worth it and I aproached it as a personal project. I am nearly 75, it changed my life, it is difficult not to worry, I hope things go smoothly. Have courage and good luck to you. Ron
Hi Sally,
I had an Aortic valve replacement in April 2021. Going in, I was reasonably fit and strong and in all honestly, the surgery was much less painful than I expected. They are great at pain management and don’t feel shy to ask for pain killers if you want them!
I did everything they told me to, including breathing exercises to fill my lungs and walking up and down the corridors. I lost my appetite, which came back slowly.
I was in Barts hospital and had fabulous care, for which I’ll always be immensely grateful. On the day of the op, in intensive care, they enabled my family to call me and talk to me and the nurse encouraged me to get out of bed and walk on the spot for as long as I felt comfortable. It gives such confidence to know you can get up and about following such invasive surgery.
Whilst hospital care was great, I was much more comfortable at home.
Within 6/7 weeks, I was out in the fields walking 9Km a day, all be it slowly. I’m now over a year on after surgery and feel just normal. I was back at my desk within 4 months, though I was pretty tired during that first month.
I now have one personal fitness training session a week and can cycle, but at about 4o% slower pace than I used to.
I think your recovery will be at the pace your body can take. Just listen to it, Don’t over do anything and keep doing the right thing and you’ll soon be back to normal. Patience and persistence will reward you in spades.
Best of luck, stay positive and expect to be a bit below par for a few weeks! It soon passes then its life pretty much normal.
Hi Sally i had a mitral valve replacement when i was 18 i am now 47. I had the metal valve done not sure what you will be having. Surgery recovery is very much dependent on each individual. 8 to 10 weeks before lifting anything heaver than a kettle which can be frustrating. If your having a metal valve replacement this should last life long. Not sure about the pig valve. You may experience depression you need to be patient and kind to yourself. Dont give yourself to high expectations either. I hope it goes well for you, hugs sara
Hi Sally, I'm not sure there's much more I could add, other than to say have a frank discussion with the Cardio/Surgeon Team regarding the type of valve. Ive had multiple Aortic and Mitral Valve replacements/repair, and had both Tissue and Mechanical Valves. There is a difference, and with new generation of valves available choose carefully. I noticed you also have AF and a PM, I'd also ask how they come into the equation.
Best wishes
Hi and thanks for your reply. I am no long in AF. Had a PM about 16 months ago and have Bradycardia now. I’m afraid I didn’t really understand your message fully, sorry don’t really understand all of this.
I am under the impression that they will try to repair both valves but if difficult will replace. So at my age of 73 I’m hoping it will last the rest of my life. So may I ask if you’ve had this done a few times, why have they had to redo. How long do they last for? I’m having it done in either Guys or St Thomas’s in London. Not sure when u say ‘choose carefully’ that I will have a choice or I even know the differences.
Sally
Hi, Sorry about that, sometimes I make assumptions that the other person knows what I'm on about.
Ideally, they can repair the valves and you can avoid replacement and simplify matters. Irrespective, the surgeon will need a fall back in case replacements are needed. As such they will normally discuss with the patient what type is best for them, some people have preferences, others go with what is recommended, there maybe practical reasons why one type is better than another for someone.
Fundamentally a Tissue Valve has a limited life before it needs replacing again. I may be wrong but, I think it's 10 years on average, but, they can last much longer. Mechanical valves should be for life, however, you would be on daily Warfarin medication, some people also notice valves ticking, personally, I don't. There are also newer types of valve, but, to be honest I'm not really up to speed on them.
Don't take my own circumstances as normal, I had my first Aortic replacement at 33 years old, going for the Tissue version, knowing full well it would need done again, once if not twice. As it happens it lasted 19 years, well beyond the norm before it needed redone. Second time around I decided to go for a Mechanical, however, surgery was a bit complicated and I had both Aortic and Mitral Valves replaced. Unfortunately within a few weeks, I acquired Endocarditis, which damaged both new valves, so four months later I had a third surgery, replacing the Aortic aagain and repairing the Mitral. I'm happy with the choices I made, and more than anything, all surgeries have given me the chance to live a normal life. The surgery really is worth it.
In all probability, they will go through the whole process with you, and make a recommendation, but, hopefully it purely hypothetical in the end.
I hope this helps a bit more.
Thank u for all of that which I understand a bit more now lol. Tbh at 73 probably be 74 when they do it, 10 years replacement/mend shld last me out.
Dont be daft, in another 10 years youll just be starting...Another thing to mention, with Tissue valves, you don't take Warfarin, whereas with Mech valves you have to have it daily. There isn't an option for alternative anticoagulants.
Hi SallyI can see you're getting lots of good advice so I was really just looking to see if I could add anything of note from my own experience.
The wise Pauline's advice is the gold standard I think - Most of us have listened to her at some time or the other 👍
The one thing I wish I had known more about is the timing involved - at least for me - and the tales of 6/8/10/12 weeks etc are great to get you through the early days and certainly 6 weeks sees a return to something like normality.
BUT in hindsight it can take a lot longer and if you find that is you then just relax and go with the flow. The best piece of advice I received was from a cardio nurse at rehab and it made me take a step back and look at where I was.
She reminded me that not only had I just been through major heart surgery but that I had also experienced major orthopaedic surgery and my body was recovering from both.
The other thing to consider and I am trying not to be a doomsayer here, is to welcome and embrace the mental side of the recovery. Both you and your family are recovering and it takes time. Time, time - those magic words but trust me time is your friend. If you bumble along always waiting for the next signs of your recovery it will seem to take longer.
Once I got all of that into my head I relaxed and grew into my recovery. I stopped expecting too much.
Yes, you may physically be recovering well within weeks but let the rest of the recovery catch up and don't worry if things take longer than you expect. At six months I felt wonderful and one year on I feel great and grateful. Grateful too for the hearties and this forum.
I hope this is helpful.
Don't hesitate to message me and good luck. It will be fine it really will.
I've just had my op last Wednesday. Best recommendation I can give is it's not only about the chest exercises and breathing post op you need to do them regularly before the op too. I swear this has been a massive help to me over the past week. You will not know a thing about the op and pain management is fantastic...along with the wonderful. staff. All the best with your op and the recovery x
Hi,Just to add, because I can't see it anywhere. Prepare for hospital. Take with you earbuds (other people snore), eye covers (they turn the lights on early in the morning and turn them off late at night), lots to do and read (it does get very boring), mobile phone (for texts etc). The food may not be very good/exciting, so take some snacks that you like, you must eat and keep your strength up. Take easy to put on comfortable clothes. You may not where them, but at least they are there. And finally, don't be in a rush to get out. Hospitals are not great places to stay in, but, for me anyway, the mental issues I had when I came home were tough.
Good luck,
Peter
This is how my recovery went for both my open heart surgery’s. Very minor walking about 50 to 100 steps twice a day for a week or two after getting released from hospital. After two weeks I was able to walk around my neighborhood 5-10 minute walks. Slowly progressing each time but not overdoing it to where I was out of breathe. At about 1 month I was doing 15-30 minute walks. Slowly getting up to 1 hour walks once a day. Was able to get back running at 2-3 months out. Everybody is going to recover differently. Listen to your body, it will tell you when it’s enough and time to rest. I kept it moderate and aware of my limits. And no lifting 10lbs+ for 2-3 months. Little bit each day and you’ll be back before you know it. Let me know if you have any questions 🙏🏼
Ummm methinks this is gonna be a bit hard as my knee has gone and waiting on the list for that to be done. Shame they can’t do hear and knee at same time lol
Hi Sally, Pauline has covered it in a nutshell 😊😘
Hi Sally, I had my mitral valve repaired 6 months tomorrow and I feel fantastic!The first 4 to 6 weeks are hard but it's so worth walking each day building up the time every other day if you can. I started with just 5 minutes.
Check out my other posts for my recovery journey.
There was no cardiac Rehab in our area so I rejoined the gym at 8 weeks and they did a routine for me which I gradually built on.
The advice post surgery is now to keep your arms in a 'tube' so you can lift and carry things as long as you keep your arms close to your body - saying this your sternum will tell you if you are doing too much! Take the pain relief offered and be prepared to sleep fairly upright and on your back for at least 4 weeks. Deep breathing exercises are essential. Avoid sneezing if you can - arms across your chest is a must in the early days if you do!
So 6 months bearing in mind your heart has to get back to a sort of normal and that takes time when it's been stretched with any regurgitation.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Everyone is different but I can honestly say I felt better every day post op.
Many thanx for your advice. I can’t sleep on my back 😩. Think I’ll be sleeping in the lounge on my recliner sofa. X
Hi Sally, I never used to either! I bought a wedge pillow and used other pillows into an armchair shape which I could hug a little to move slightly onto my side. Depending on your chest size get some sleep bras (mine were from Asda), no clips to dig in and easy to get on and off. You've been pulled around a bit and I found wearing support 24/7 really helped. I took cocodamol at night and paracetamol during the day for the first few weeks until I felt ready to reduce it. Best wishes.
Hi Sally. I had open heart surgery 3 years ago at the same age as you. It went very well. I was in critical care for five days and then back to the ward. You do have to be careful for sometime afterwards because of the sternum wire. My scars healed very well. After about four weeks back home I started a rehab programme at my local hospital which was great. It was group sessions with everyone there having had heart surgery. Before leaving hospital I had some physio sessions and did some walking around the ward etc which helped. I was in hospital four weeks altogether. I had help at home too as it is hard to do much for some time but you gradually get back to normal but you have to be patient. By the way I had a mitral valve replacement at the Royal Papworth heart and lung hospital in Cambridgeshire. I hope all goes well for you just remember follow what your body wants to do and you will be fine.Best wishes.
Thank u Madeira. That’s helped me a lot x
A few seconds ago
Hi. I'm 75 and had a double bypass and AVR in October 21. 1) the pain relief procedures in hospital are fantastic so don't worry about that - you'll be uncomfortable and sore for a while but it's no way near as bad as man flu. 2). they gave us a booklet post surgery which gave the impression that you would be back to normal in 6-8 weeks. Yeah. Right. It takes a bit longer than that.(after 5 months, I was having short sessions fly fishing again) 3) take cardio rehab classes if offered. The specialist nurses know their stuff and are really knowledgeable, helpful and reassuring 4). I was told to expect a review with the surgeon 6-7 weeks post op. After 5 months I queried it with my GP who advised me to chase it up myself. I am now going to have my review nearly a year to the day post op. I also had to chase up my GP for the blood tests required for the meds I was put on. The NHS is under huge pressure - you have to be proactive because if they don't hear from you a) you're already dead and therefore no longer their problem or b) you're still alive in which case hopefully you can wait a bit longer whilst they deal with the backlog in the ambulances and corridors . More seriously, they're fantastic and you'll be fine but don't be afraid to "bother" the doctor.👍. PS. constipation was a problem for me. Don't be shy and if the small dose of lactulose/senna they give doesn't work, ask for something stronger. PPS. there's always one or two patients on the Ward who are, loud, rude, opinionated, demanding, arrogant and generally insufferable. This is Nature's way of distracting you from the constipation. Be grateful.🙄
Hi thanks for all that. So did u actually have open heart surgery? I only ask because of your rate of recovery. I’ve read many responses on here and it seems that because of having the sternum broken for ‘open heart’ that’s where the longer recovery takes.
Yes, open heart surgery, the full works. Yes, they wire the sternum back together and because we are in our seventies, it takes longer to mend than when we were in our teens. How your body responds is individual and in any operation nerves and muscles get damaged, sometimes more so sometimes less. So for several weeks in my case, turning over in bed was a long and uncomfortable process. The worst thing was sneezing . But I wasn't in agony. 11 months later, sometimes my chest feels numb around the scars and that's it. I would say - take your time and don't push it. Cardiac rehab get you doing gentle press ups against the wall. For me, that was uncomfortable and I made things worse by carrying on until the nurse said words to the effect "If it hurts, stop doing it you dumb*******". Can I say two things - 1) These days, this is routine surgery. Routine. At the MRI where they deal with urgent cases as opposed to Wythenshawe which are more standard, they were doing 6-8 a day until the pandemic hit. I remember vaguely hearing the surgeon say to the nurses in the post op recovery unit " Double by-pass and valve replacement. Textbook. He's all yours" When you think about it, the surgeons probably do these ops more often than dentists extract teeth. 2). Be very, very wary of consulting Dr Google or forums, like this especially USA ones. They are full of horror stories. I asked the surgeon prior to surgery (Like you, valve replacement) what the chances of dying during or just after surgery ; he replied "about 1%". I told him I'd take those odds. As Bill Oddie - a birdwatcher - said of rare birds "anything can turn up anywhere, anytime. But almost certainly won't". You'll be fine. They were/are desperate for beds so chucked me out double quick time. I said to the surgeon. "aren't I supposed to have an assessment". he said "what sort of assessment do you want?" I said " well, for example I'm supposed to be assessed for going up the stairs". he thought about for a moment then said "Well, if I was you I'd hold on to the bannister and take it one step at a time". You got to love them.
It can be a long recovery but you cant really rush it certainly not in those first 8 weeks or so your body will have a lot of healing to do particularly your sternum where i believe its reccomended you dont lift for about 12 weeks. get used to sleeping on your back for a spell as it will be sore. I had an aortic valve replaced, a mitral valve repaired and a hole patched up that had been there from being a child and as lockdown had commenced there wasnt much in the way of cadiac rehab so i very gradually started walkin g gently at first just round my garden building it up then graduated to the end of my road and so on. As Im not in a flat area and as I progressed I would drive to my local park where it was flat and walk there. After roughly 8 months I could do some gardening and other odd jobs but getting upper body strength back to be honest did take time. Listen to your body and rest when you need to the wait to get back to normality seems to take forever but get it right and youll be ok. It will be 3 years next year but I feel fiter than ever and walk regularly in the hills now next to where I live and im in my mid sixties. Good luck and take care
Any advice on using a hot tub after open heart surgery . 
surgery question for anyone who has had mini-sternotomy/ open heart surgery. 
Heart Bypass 
Date for surgery
