I am new to this community but hoping there might be some helpful advice.
My mum (70s) has just had a TAVI procedure to treat aortic stenosis. She is also now on Apixaban for atrial fibrillation following the procedure.
She is recovering well but getting some odd experiences. She herself would say that she is an anxious person and has a tendency to over think physical sensations. So, it’s very hard to know if it’s just anxiety, post op recovery, the new medication, or something to worry about;
- she is feeling her heart pounding and also in quiet moments thinks she can hear her heart squeaking.
- she feels that her blood pressure is going up. She seems worse after food.
Because she is anxious and does get over worried about little things, but then will hide bigger things if she’s scared I’m struggling to unpick what could be something to phone the ward about and what to just reassure her about.
Any one have similar experiences. She struggles with sight and technology so I’m posting on her behalf. She knows and is fine with that.
Thank you. 😊
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Thanks for replying. No she hasn’t. Follow up phone call in a few weeks and then yearly cardiology check up. I could ask about rehab. She didn’t have an event. It was picked up due to l fluid on lungs causing breathlessness so not sure if she’d get offered rehab?
I believe some people are offered rehab after a TAVI procedure, and others aren’t. Could you ask at your mums next telephone appointment if this is a suitable option for her perhaps?
I’m sorry no one has responded to you about your questions relating to her TAVI procedure. I’ll attach the BHF cardiac nurses’ help line number below. They are available 9-5pm Monday to Friday. It might be worth giving them a call Monday.
I have been using Apixaban for a few years now and have not experienced the issues you describe, for me its in the good product category. Perhaps some post op anxiety?
Thank you so much all for replies and good wishes. Good to know that there are BHF nurses you can call. I had no idea. I’m sure if we phone the ward and asked to speak to the TAVI nurses they would be fine with that too. I think it’s most likely anxiety too as she is prone to get very anxious.
I do wonder about the squeaking she can hear. It might well be she can hear it now her heart is working better. It must take the body time to adjust.
Hello,I have no experience to speak of regarding the TAVI procedure but I recognise the experiences you say your mother reports. Its very likely that, like me, your mother is quite a sensitive individual. I can report with accuracy internal sensations, such as the rise of cortisol which will almost immediately result in higher blood pressure readings, and the range where the reading will be. Likewise with the mitral valve regurgitation which I first reported to the GP. High and low blood pressure give rise to physical sensations which are real sensations. Validation of her physical experiences and explanation of their significance will go a long way in calming her anxiety as this gives a sense of control. As advise by Tos92, maybe a word with the cardiac nurses or a sympathetic cardiologist can help.
I was started on 20mg a day Apixaban last Sunday, 10mg in the morning and 10mg in the evening, preferably at the same time, on account of clot in one of my lungs; within half an hour I had a terrible headache, nausea and within an hour diarrhea which did not allow me to leave the house. I discussed it with my cardiologist and later with an A&E consultant and since the effect is cumulative, it was agreed that it would be ok to take one 5 mg tablet at a time along the day when my body was "settle" to build up to the prescribed 20 mg daily. The change in the dosage made a difference, headaches dissipated and the diarrhea changed to brief blockage followed by diarrhea but only once a day. It was important for me to keep water intake to at least 2lt a day to keep side effects at bay.
I am also under the care of a nutritionist and naturopath who prescribed Ashwagandha to help with underlying anxiety. I find this quite effective and has no side effect on me.
Oh that’s very interesting. Yes. She is sensitive to internal processes but also has a very strong placebo and nocebo response so I have to tread carefully. If for example there is 1% risk of a side effect, she needs to be told there is a 99% chance of no side effect. Also if she gets anxious and that causes symptoms and she then gets anxious about the symptoms she ends up in a horrible panicky loop! I’ll tell her about that supplement. She sees a counsellor but some reassuring words from the nurse would go a long way. I’ll call them with her tomorrow. Thanks so much for posting. Good luck.
Hello again, It is good to listen to the body responses but it is important to be calm , for anxiety can play havoc. It took a massive drop in my health condition to prove to the doctors most medications prescribed to treat hypertension did not suit me, were doing harm and, in fact, giving no benefits. There are always exceptions to a rule.
I've not had a TAVi procedure but have had plenty of others and I'm also on apixaban having chronic and persistent AF.
I found that I was much more sensitive to heart beats, small pains, discomfort and odd sensations after a procedure. I expect that's natural and the imagination can run riot if you let it. Some of these sensations were related to heart burn/acid reflux/hiatus but I didn't know then that these symptoms and cardiac symptoms are often difficult to distinguish. That's why we often have ECGs, ultrasound and other tests to make sure it's not a cardiac issue.
I also discovered that blood pressure is very sensitive to changes in mood, especially anxiety. Hence nurses and doctors often say something like, 'let's try the best of three', as by the third one you've clamed down more and BP is lower!
I've never had any bad reactions to apixaban apart from the risk of bruising and bleeding more that you would otherwise do.
That does help thank you. Yes. Anxiety - raised BP - more anxiety - and so on. She’s getting much better at calming herself down now. She’s done amazingly.
Interesting you found you were more sensitive to things post procedure too. It makes sense really.
I haven’t had a TAVI procedure but I just wanted to say well done to you both for being brave and asking questions to understand more.
From what you’ve mentioned about your mum, I think a heightened awareness of her internal processes and increased anxiety are perfectly normal. Anything heart related has the ability to play havoc with mental health, not just physical and I would like to commend you both for trying to take a proactive approach to help alleviate your mum’s anxiety.
I think the call is a good choice and I hope they’re able to put your mum’s mind at rest and give some thoroughly deserved reassurance.
As they say, a problem shared is a problem halved, so you’re already halfway there 🙂
Hi I am 75 and had an Tavi aortic valve replacement 12 weeks ago. I.live in the North East Got phone call from local cardiac team the date after I got home saw them a few days later and was offered cardio rehab at 6 weeks I was doing OK for 6 weeks then got major blood pressure problems and was back in hospital They said the reason was because the valve was working so well.my blood pressure didn't know where it should be They stopped the mess for 2 weeks then started me on a new blood pressure one. I think the anxiety is to be expected I am not an anxious person. but having this happen and your body and mind going through all this upset its not surprising you panic
Has she a blood pressure monitor you can get one at the chemist ?
I started the rehab at 9 weeks and it is great so chase this up your
mother will get to meet other people on the recovery road and it will give her a lot more confidence in what she can do Good facebook page is UK aortic and heart defects pre and post surgery
They are a brilliant group and give so much support I hope your mother gets her confidence back I consider myself so lucky to have been offered TAVI and that I got to this age as there are a lot of younger people who have have to have open heart surgery Gax your mother named her valve mine is called Freda free after the hospitals name and da after part of the surgeons name I tell her every morning to give me good day
Hi - I'm a Post valve replacement person but just wanted to second Cappachina - its very natural to be worrying about the things going on in your chest - your heart has gone through such a lot and it takes time to settle down, it must be a shockto the whole system. I would also second getting a blood pressure monitoring machine (got mine from BHF) - it is very helpful and reassuring to have a record of your blood pressure and what is normal for you/yourmum.,
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