My husband will be 79 when he has his OHS. From the surveys I have read short term outcomes are poor (short term often means over a year). I am hoping there is someone on this forum in a similar situation or who has had the Op and are willing to share their experiences. Apart from one episode of what they think was Angina 6 months ago he has no other symptoms and his quality of life is good. I am so very worried and looking for advice. Thank you
Looking for advice on recovery after ... - British Heart Fou...
Looking for advice on recovery after OHS in elderly man
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WorriedWife24
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Dear Worried Wife
I had OHS to replace my aortic valve, aged 72. It was a wonderful experience and totally successful. Staff in the cardiology sector are fabulous. My operation was, with my agreement, observed so there was a lot of discussion afterwards. The success rate for the op, is better than 99%.
Because I am old, I could have a non metallic valve, which is less hassle all round.
I was pretty terrified of going in for the op, but the staff were so good at settling my nerves that my fear melted away.
I walked into the operating suite and they started inserting needles, I began to think…couldn't they knock me out first….i woke up two days later.
Without the op I would have died within a couple of months. I am now 76.
The recovery period for me was 12 weeks, but I just enjoyed feeling a little better every two days. It is essential to do the rehab. Mostly walking whilst talking.
I then had my life back.
Due to covid, no visitors allowed, which saved my worried wife the hassle of travel.
I guess you get to hear the sad or disaster outcomes which is today’s internet attitude. But there are plenty of very happy guys like me.
Sooty
Thank you, good to hear a positive experience. I think I should have said that he is having triple by pass surgery which could take 6 to 7 hours. He will have the added challenge of wounds from where grafts are taken and the risk of infection.
hi I had a quadruple bypass and was scared to death of the operation and it’s only natural to worry however if he’s fit and healthy with no angina which was similar to me he will find the recovery a little rough for a couple of days but will be up and about by day 3(possibly day 2)with a sore chest
I followed all the instructions given during my recovery (some were strange I must admit)and by week 12 was wondering what all the fuss was about
The vein harvesting left no pain some slight scarring but be prepared for problems with the compression socks if they take them from his legs it was a right game getting them past my ankles
I didn’t have any stitches they were glued but for some reason I was sore around my ankles
I wish I could say more to put your mind at rest but it will be difficult for a short while then he will feel loads better and not have to worry about his heart
Good luck and I hope it all goes well for him and you
I am 33 and had open heart surgery to repair my mitral valve 4 weeks ago. The staff were amazing and went above and beyond to support me while recovering in hospital.They gave me pre operative medicine but I am not sure how much it helped me with the nerves before surgery. When I went down to the operating room I was first in the anesthesist room where they began to put some needles and then I really don't know when and how I went to sleep. I was 2 days in ICU as had some complications. I had episodes of afib after surgery so they placed an external pacemaker (not sure how it is called) for the whole time I was at the hospital. They removed it the day before going home. The recovery is long and hard (for me). I walk a lot and do almost 2 miles a day to get my strenght back. Of course there are good and bad days. However the progress from day to day is amazing. I hope everything will go well with your husbands operation. The cardiology team in my case were fabulous and whatever I needed they always helped me.
Many thanks for your good wishes and for sharing your experience and so pleased you are doing well, at 33 it's not something you would expect to have to deal with. I should have said that my husband is having triple by pass surgery so he will have the added challenge of wounds from where the grafts are taken. Also it's a very long operation 6-7 hours..
Hi. I'm on 7 weeks after OHS, mitral valve repair.
Honestly the difference between week 4 which your on and week 7 is massive. Started the cardio-rehab yesterday and pushed me on the treadmill which as given me confidence to do more on my day to day activities. I'm walking a steady hour a day but yesterday opened my eyes that my heart is stronger than i originally thought post-op. I'm 50 years old and was reasonably fit beforehand, just this extremely leaky valve.
Good luck with your recovery and remember by week 7 you will feel loads better again.
Hi Paul - I am now 16 weeks post MVR via OHS - my rehab goes really well for 3 weeks (now walking 4 to 5 miles in one go at a good pace and relatively quick uphill) then I get a set back (not sure if doing too much) by way of a feeling of nausea (I am on pretty low meds) and need a few days of gentle walking until I can resume "my rehab" ..... my problem is that the waiting list for cardio rehab in my areas is 4 months, so my question is do you think I could call your cardio rehab person with my questions as My GP has no answers for me. rgds Stuart
Hi.Glad to hear your doing well, even if having these bouts of nausea.
My re-hab is with my local hospital and not at wythenshawe where i had the operation. I'm more than happy to ask them on Wednesday my next appointment, if they would be willing to answer any questions.
I fear they probably would not like to tell you anything tho without assessing you face to face incase of any comeback.
On the other hand if your 16 weeks pre-op, surely you should now be about to have your cardio-rehab, if not i would be pushing them.
Thanks
Paul
Thanks Paul - same here, my Op' was in Oxford some 1.5 hours away and for rehab I am under my local NHS at Gloucester Royal and to be frank they are very stretched ........ I called and pushed many times........ any help is welcome thanks
The improvements week by week are amazing. I can do more things now but get tired very easily when doing housework. I look forward to the rehab sessions. I am curious to see how my body responds to exercise as before surgery even a walk was a struggle. Thank you for your message and wish you the best in your recovery too.
My father-in-law who had chronic kidney disease and high blood pressure had a valve replacement and a bypass at age 82. He recovered well and continued to holiday abroad a couple of times a year until he died in 2019 aged 91.
Thank you so much for your response. My husband is having a triple bypass - I think I should have said that in my post. It means a very long Op, 6-7 hours and wounds where the grafts are taken from. But certainly hearing of your father in law's experience is a comfort,
Thank you to all the lovely people who have replied so far. I think I should have added that my husband is having triple by pass surgery with an expected operation time of 6-7 hours. He will also have several wounds where the grafts are taken from. The consultant says he will be in hospital for 5 days which seems crazy, I was in hospital for a week after my daughter was born.
I’m a bit younger 61 and had quadruple bypass last July following Nstemi heart attack. The consultant surgeon that briefed me prior to surgery was told I was fit and strong and young and not their normal customer 🤦🏼🤣. He said the team and in general they perform thousands of these procedures , “the hardest working person in the team is the anaesthetist , that’s the hardest job , the rest of us do some plumbing and seeing” 🤣. He explained that they normally worked on much older patients who had other complications ( cancer , diabetes etc) and the success rate was extremely high and risks extremely low. I had grafts harvested from both legs and my left arm as well as the mammary artery diverted. All scars healing well 9 months later. Chest wound did get infected when I was discharged home , a bit stubborn to clear up as it took a few courses of antibiotics. I was with a great cohort on my ward , some a lot older than me with some of the other complications mentioned by my surgeon, it was fantastic to see them go through their surgery, come back out and 5 days later be taken home smiling with their families . Wishing you and your husband a successful procedure and comfortable rehab. Get on the cardiac rehab course post surgery 👍🏻❤️
So pleased all is now well with you and thank you for your good wishes. My husband's surgery will be in a hospital 100 miles away and our nearest main hospital is 40 miles away so I am concerned about the rehab and how easy it will be to access. I will be his sole carer (we have no immediate family and the rest of the family are 300 miles away) so it will be challenging to keep him positive and active but I am banking on our friends and our lovely dog to get him up and about. By the way we do live about as far west as its possible to be in the country - hence the mileages!
My husband was younger (60) when he had a quintuple bypass and he was out of hospital in 4 days. 5 days seems scary but they will only discharge him when they are happy to. They have you walking round the ward the next day. The wounds on his chest, arm and leg healed really well. All I would say is follow all the post op advice. The teams of surgeons do an amazing job. You will worry, that is natural, but afterwards you go through stages step by step and it doesn’t feel as daunting as it sounds, especially when you are supporting each other. Good luck.
Thank you for your response and yes it does seem daunting. Being a life long worrier (if I'm not worried I'm worried I'm missing something) it's hard to stay positive but all the wonderful responses on here certainly help. Thank you for your good wishes.
I’m 71, had 2xPCI, CABG and AVR 10 months ago. I’m running 5k once a week and I’ve got my life back.
I was a priority case from which I infer that I probably had a handful of months left without the OHS. I’ve been given pretty much a clean bill of health and been told to live a normal life. My local cardiac unit don’t want to see me for any follow up for 2 years.
I’ve got a bovine valve, where the graft for the CABG was taken is barely visible unless I get cold. In fact it is less visible than my chest scar and healed more easily/quickly.
Wonderful encouraging response, thank you.
I had a triple bypass last November, I was 72 then and am now fully recovered. The normal operation length for a bypass is less than 5 hours. I actually had a bleed so I was under anaesthetic for 20 hours as I had to be opened up again. I can’t deny that the first couple of weeks after the op were tough, but within 6 weeks I was physically healed and just trying to get my strength and stamina back. By 13 weeks I was as good as new and now I’m doing more than I was last year. All the health staff were brilliant and very professional and take good care of you. My father in law had a heart valve replacement at 87 and recovered very well. They wouldn’t do the operation if they didn’t feel your husband was up to it. Keep positive, I’m sure it will all be a great success.
Great to hear you and your father in law had such a good outcomes. Trying to stay positive. My husband is on a routine list for surgery so no indication yet of when it will be.
Dear WorriedWife24,
I had my triple bypass just over 2 years ago March 22.
I was 68 over weight and had a massive Heart attack. Again smack in one of the covid lock downs. So the only contact i had with family was via Phone or video link.I was absolutely petrified ref the operation ( over active imagination). I remember going down to theatre shaking with fear, the staff were fantastic keeping me calm, even offered sedatives to calm me, i refused. Then suddenly all was calm, remember my surgeon asking what had happened. Well i said “ either i wake up with repaired heart or your going have a hell of a job explaining to my wife you mucked up” We all burst out laughing .
Six hours later i was back on the ward all sorted , i won’t lie to you my recovery wasn’t has fast as other guys on the ward , one of them was 78. This was all my fault because of my lazy life style since retiring, i was so unfit it was unreal. Make sure he does the cardiac rehab course, it is hard work at first, again the team make sure you don’t over do it. It also helps you mentally when you hear other people’s stories and struggles, but now i’ve lost weight and kept it off, i love every day like it’s my last, i can still ride my very large touring motorcycle, which my wife and fully enjoy.
Sorry for the ramble , I won’t tell you not to worry , because you will, but have faith in the skill of the cardiac teams looking after your husband and enjoy life together .
Not a ramble at all, a brilliant response, wonderful to read! Interested to hear you kept in touch by phone. My husband's surgery will be in a hospital 100 miles from home, I can stay in the hospital for the first two days but after that we will have to keep in touch by phone. Was that difficult?
I used my mobile phone as the hospital system was expensive. we did up graded my phone package to include a bigger data allowance so we could use FaceTime as well as basic phone calls.
Also & (this sounds strange possibly) we set a list of times to call each other. Even though you do feel better, you are exhausted after the surgery and 6hrs under Anaesthetic takes its toll. Also whilst i love my wife to bits , not having to worry about her travelling and then the hassle of parking was strangely relaxing.
You’ll both be ok , i’m sure 👍
Thank you, useful advice. Can I ask if your wife was able to speak to his medical team easily . My husband hates making a fuss and I worry he won't tell them about any problems he is having. If I'm being bothersome please just shut me down.
unfortunately my wife didn’t get to talk to the surgeons direct Covid regulations and her mother had died a few days before i was move upto the surgical ward( my arteries were so bad they wouldn’t to stents ). So was dealing with all that during my time in hospital. I was getting updates from junior doctors which weren't answering fully my queries. I lost my temper at one point ( ashamed to say) and demanded a full discussion with the consultant instead of his junior doctors as i wasn’t satisfied with the reasons i was been taken to surgery for the bypass.
He was great ( not to say the juniors weren’t good) fully explained why the stents weren’t an option in my case and not just your arteries are blocked.
I relayed all this to my Wife and Daughter , as explained in earlier post ( vivid imagination always looking on the dark side) Beverley ( wife) and Rebekah ( daughter) would kick common sense into my thinking. I know your going to be distance from your husband , best route to the doctors is via the nurse allocated to your husband, i know rebekah spoke a lot to my nursing team explaining what a wuss i am really 🫣.
But as my grandma used to say “ shy bairns get nowt” . So get him told to talk to the staff or you will grass him up .
Another Ramble.
So sorry your wife had such a rough time too, why is it bad things happen together? I'm always unsure about the term "junior doctor" it seems to apply to any doctor who isn't actually a consultant. However your advice about access through his allocated nurse has been noted, thank you. It will go down in my little file of things to do and remember. We now have a date to see the consultant, June 3rd, makes it all the more real. Please continue to ramble on, it doesn't exactly bring me joy but it is of great help and comfort .
As others have said, they wouldn't do the operation unless there was a very high chance of success as it is an expensive and resource sapping operation for the NHS apart from any concerns for the patient.
It will take some 6 to 8 weeks to recover and start to feel vaguely normal but then the quality of life should be good ,
Thank you for your response and you raise a very good point. It's now just a question of waiting for a date which is stressful.
Is there anything he could do to prepare himself?
Is he otherwise fit and the correct weight?
If you get offered the opportunity, its better to be an in patient rather than an outpatient as they can't forget you!
He walks twice a day with the dog, an hour or so at a time, he's of slight build , doesn't smoke, drinks the occasional glass of wine. It came as quite a shock to get his diagnosis when he had none of the markers for CAD. Down to genetics I guess. Will bear in mind the in patient advice. Thank you
I do wonder if we know as much as we think we do about heart conditions, eating and exercise. There are numerous people on here who have been living healthy lives who then get a condition. I don't think it all down to genetics but the advice on the best food always seems to change.
I am sure the operation will go fine and he will likely be out within 4 days.
You need to prepare for his return. For instance comfortable chairs, lots of pillows, perhaps separate sleeping arrangements for a while and small meals. Have entertainment to hand plus paracetemol. He will likely be emotional. ensure he doesn't try to do too much as its often 2 steps forward and 1 back.
Let us all know how it goes but you might need to chase the hospital
Wonderful advice thank you. Have been researching chairs and back supports and was considering using the spare room or glory hole as it's usually referred to. We married in 1970 when the Mediterranean diet was in and we have mostly kept to it but growing up we ate lots of red meat, animal fats (dripping sandwiches!) so maybe the nature or nurture argument has a part to play.
What might be comfortable in the morning might not be so in the afternoon so if you have a couple of chairs offering different views, that might be useful. If you have a car that is parked in a suitable location, I found that to be the best of all. It offered familiar circumstances, comfortable reclining seats, lots of in house entertainment and by opening the car door you could be out in the fresh air!
He will need easy access to a bathroom
Great idea about the car. Unfortunately we have a downstairs bathroom so thinking we will have to get a commode for a while- horrible thought. The good thing about having the bathroom downstairs is it forces you to get up
My partner had a triple bypass 2 years ago at the age of 79, following a heart attack. He had to stay in hospital with a 24 hour monitor prior to the operation for 6 weeks as his condition was unstable although he felt well.
After the operation he was in ICU for 3 days but was discharged 8 days later. He was weak but made a gradual recovery from the operation. He was diagnosed with heart failure but had excellent support from the HF nurse. 6 months later he had some blackouts & was fitted with a ICD. He has a monitor that sends readings to the hospital team & regular check ups.
We are now living normally(for our age!) He has been able to drive again after obligatory 6 months suspension of his licence. He enjoys gardening & we walk for up to 4 miles when the weather permits.
Please have confidence in the medical team & faith that all will be well. Stay strong!
Thank you, being a natural born pessimist and life long worrier I crave reassurance. So good to hear your partner is enjoying life again after such a traumatic time. My good wishes to you both.
Dad was 79 when he had his triple bypass (was meant to be quadruple but they decided to leave the fourth). It was a long journey but there were other elderly people in with him who did far better and recovered much quicker. He was in ICU for almost 4 weeks and on a cardiac ward for a further 7. Took almost a year for him to recover but he did have another six good years. In Dad’s case, like a classic car, one part of the engine was repaired but it put a lot of pressure on other parts. The NHS are right not to discriminate about ops but clearly for some, not all, older people the recovery process is extremely tough. Please read up on delirium. When I had my recent OHS I was given a leaflet about it. Thankfully (and it was my biggest worry) it didn’t happen to me, but I wish I’d been aware of it before Dad had his. Again, it was temporary (about 8 weeks) but I didn’t even know it was a thing.
Good luck to you both and keep in touch xx
Many thanks for your response. I think, from all the research I have done, I was expecting a year for full recovery. I also recall mention of possible brain damage. I trust you are recovering well from your own OHS and are enjoying life. My husband 's OHS will be in a hospital nearly 100miles away. I can stay in the hospital for the first two days after that we must rely on the phone. Unfortunately we have no immediate family so I will be his sole carer which is slightly daunting. Being a natural born pessimist I do expect the worst but I will keep in mind what you and others have said about many good years after recovery. Your good wishes and those of others on here are very much appreciated.
I think I am like you and search for all the possible problems even though I’m an optimist! It does no harm to be prepared. It will be exhausting for you even if everything goes to plan so make sure you have time to rest before he goes home. Mum was fabulous and became Dad’s carer for many months but we were able to take over many tasks for her.
I’m progressing well thank you and I’ve had a much different experience to Dad but I’m 24 years younger than he was when he had his op.
Get in touch anytime, even if you just need to chat. Having been through it myself and as a family member I definitely think it is tougher for the family emotionally xx
Thank you for your kind reply and very welcome offer of a chat. The past few years have been tough as we lost many friends as a result of the pandemic and others are still suffering from its effects so I don't like to add to their burdens. Now we just have to wait for a date for the Op. Best wishes
Sometimes it’s just easier to chat with people who aren’t directly involved. Please do message anytime xx
I totally share the encouraging advice given by others. I had aortic valve replacement plus triple by-pass in December 2021, at age 81. While I cannot remember much or anything about the first couple of days afterwards, from then on it was steady improvement and more discomfort rather than pain. In fact the worst bit was the eventual pulling out of the various tubes from my body, but that was a process of just a few seconds. Yes, I have scars on my leg from vein removal but they are scarcely noticeable, as is the scar down my chest. The wounds all healed well and quickly. I was in hospital for two weeks, and they would not let me out until I proved that I could stand up and walk alone for 6 minutes. The best advice that I was given was to give the re-hab your very best efforts. If you are taken for 1 walk around the hospital corridors (a stunningly boring process) ask if you can do a bit more, etc.
Within a two months of the procedure I was walking more-or-less normally although a bit unsteadily and reluctant to climb up slopes. Within 4 months all that was behind me and I was climbing hundreds of steps up mountain temples (I live in Thailand) without any discomfort.
Here we are given a written report (several pages) by the medical staff of everything that took place during the procedure. I joke now that if I had seen that beforehand I might have just said "never mind, I will just go home". But that is just joking, and please encourage him to disregard any contrary fears that he might have or hear. I knew nothing about all that at the time. Please tell your husband to worry as little about it as possible, and he will be amazed how quickly and well he will recover. and how even the immediate post-op discomfort is not a walk in the park but it is nothing like as bad as he might and probably will fear.
Wonderful response, thank you so much.
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