Questions about Recovering from double bypass & mitral valve repair open heart surgery

Sadie1

New Member

Joined : Jul 2008

Posts : 3

Posted 7/29/2008 4:45 PM (GMT 0)

I am a 65 year old (young) female who has been very healthy all my life til now. I had open heart surgery 6/9/08 and am at 8 weeks. Can anyone tell me what to expect as I recover. Developed irregular heartbeat at 6 weeks. Dcotor increased Lopressor to .025 mg 1 in a.m. and 1 pill in p.m., added Digoxin also. Am also taking Lipitor & 325 mg asprins. Said this condition is fairly common for a while. Has anyone else had this problem and was it permanent. Still have irregular heartbeat occasionally but usually only last 10-20 mins. My average BP 112/74 pulse 81 but when I get irregular heartbeat/pulse BP machine can't measure pulse. Doctor says blood pressure machines don't measure pulse accurately when there pulse is irregular. My blood pressure doesn't go up when I get the irregular pulse/heartbeat. Any comments or advice is welcome.

Post Edited (Sadie1) : 7/31/2008 11:38:12 AM (GMT-6)

SouthernHeart

New Member

Joined : Jul 2008

Posts : 11

Posted 8/2/2008 4:17 AM (GMT 0)

I had a triple bypass last September.I too developed an irregular heart beat-skipped beats,double beats or bigeminy,etc and my rate would be high and then too low.My heart surgeon and cardiologist said this is normal for awhile because bypass surgery saves your life but it can irritate the heart for some time.

I eventually had to have an ICD or combo pacemaker/defibrillator implanted because my irregular heart beat and rate worsened in time but it was because for me I had electrical issues with my heart aside from coronary artery disease.My BP and heart were not anywhere near as good as your's is.My heart rate would be like at 150 at times and then suddenly dip into the 30's and stay there.I was having fainting episodes and other symptoms with it and they continued no matter how much my heart meds were lowered.

If I were in your shoes I would definitely mention this to your doc and raise any concerns you have.I mean I would mention the irregularity you are experiencing with your heart.

I wish you well with your recovery.

DonnaB

If you continue to have an irregular heart beat your doc may suggest a heart monitor or event recorder to try and capture your cardiac activity.

Sadie1

New Member

Joined : Jul 2008

Posts : 3

Posted 8/6/2008 5:59 PM (GMT 0)

Thanks for your reply. I went for my followup appointment yesterday with my heart surgeon. They did an EKG which was normal and he said that everything sounded good and as long as the irregular heartbeat was off and on that this is fairly common and should go away eventually. I had a bunch of question for him which he answered. I forgot one thing and that was about my incision which was closed using glue. It is healed but I still have a scab. The nurse said I could peel it off but my chest is still tender from the nerves growing back. I know they said not to use anything on it after surgery but I wonder is I can put vitamin E on it to help remove those scabs. I don't want to take them off til they are ready so they won't leave much of a scar. If you were told anything about that, please send me back a reply. Did you feel really tired when the irregular heartbeat happenend. Thanks.

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