Riding again after major heart surgery.

[Mr QR]

Hi, 3 years ago I had surgery to replace my aortic valve, this was after a life of riding many, many miles, riding time trials and latterly completing a couple of centuries.
It turns out I was born with a bicuspid valve which degrades as you get older. No wonder I could never hit those fast times I was chasing!
I was wondering if there is anyone else here riding after heart surgery .

[joeegg]

Not sure if its major heart surgery but i had a triple bypass just under 4 years ago.No warning of the heart attack.Normal blood pressure,cholesterol,etc.
Got back on the road about a month afterwards and have continued riding both road and mtb since.
I am aware all the time that my chest doesn't feel right and that's probably due to all the muscles,nerves and bone being sliced through then wired back.It feels as if parts of my chest and back are not quite in their original position and can ache after a bit quicker ride.

[gbnz]

Hi, 3 years ago I had surgery to replace my aortic valve, this was after a life of riding many, many miles, riding time trials and latterly completing a couple of centuries.
It turns out I was born with a bicuspid valve which degrades as you get older. No wonder I could never hit those fast times I was chasing!
I was wondering if there is anyone else here riding after heart surgery .

Nope, not after heart surgery. But been 5 months since last carried off a hi speed train (NB. 2 last year), a medically trained individual on board was concerned that along with an absolute.........my heart might stop, as were major A & E all night. Have had notable chest pains when pushing the pace for more than 5 - 10 -15 minutes the past few months, have actually allowed myself a break, no pedalling for minutes, but am returning to norm

Depends how much you want to cycle. Take it exceptionally easy, c/w short rides, or slowly work back into it, or give it up, bear in mind that medical people will want you to sit around, doing nothing, being sensible, in reality, it makes their life much easier.........@ 52yr's now, 60+ emergency ambulance rides since 2018, some near terminal, have found ones own judgement is best - stay off the bike, walk, or ride

[Mr QR]

Thanks for your messages guys, I'm trying to find some confidence to get back out there again, I've ridden a few times and everything is ok but I used to enjoy pushing myself hard and now I can't do that I feel it's taken the edge off of my enjoyment of riding, although I'm thinking of joining my local ctc and doing some group rides with the slower ride groups to get me moving again. .

[joeegg]

Speaking to the surgeon about returning to cycling after my bypass he said don't become a typical heart attack victim. No sitting in a chair saying i can't do this or that,get out there and do whatever sport you enjoy. Your body. will tell you when you might be just pushing it a bit too much.

[Mr QR]

I love this response from a surgeon, I just wish my surgeon was able to speak out like that.
Thank you joeegg

[Carlton green]

…. bear in mind that medical people will want you to sit around, doing nothing, being sensible, in reality, it makes their life much easier.........

That reminds me of a conversation - long ago and elsewhere - that an old guy in the local cycling club had with his Doctor. The gist of it was that at your age you should be sitting quietly in a chair and not off on your bike doing 80 mile day rides (which he seemed to complete remarkably well). Many in the medical profession are very knowledgeable and helpful, but there are others …

[drossall]

Not sure if its major heart surgery but i had a triple bypass just under 4 years ago.No warning of the heart attack.Normal blood pressure,cholesterol,etc.
Got back on the road about a month afterwards and have continued riding both road and mtb since.
I am aware all the time that my chest doesn't feel right and that's probably due to all the muscles,nerves and bone being sliced through then wired back.It feels as if parts of my chest and back are not quite in their original position and can ache after a bit quicker ride.

Double bypass in mid 2019. Similar experience to this. The specialist who discharged me said to push myself as much as I liked - it probably helped that my discharge was delayed because I got an infection and ended up back in hospital being treated for that, so my heart and chest were an extra couple of months on from normal. This then alarmed the cardiac physio team, who were forever telling me to take it gently when I was ready to go for it a bit more on the rowing machine and so on.

I agree about the chest constantly feeling not right - there hasn't been a day in nearly six years now when I've not been aware that someone has pulled it apart and so on. But I'm riding Audaxes, dabbling in club time trials (with just as little talent but just as much fun as before my incident), and so on.

As ever, the advice of your GP and specialist are the key. Everyone's experience is different.

[Audax67]

I have memories of riding with a chap who had had a ventricular septum defect closed by a prosthesis. He was on clopidogrel for life but beyond that he had no restrictions. I have 3 stents and a murmur myself, so I'm on clopidogrel too. After the stenting I was back on the bike in 3 weeks.

[axel_knutt]

…. bear in mind that medical people will want you to sit around, doing nothing, being sensible, in reality, it makes their life much easier.........

That reminds me of a conversation - long ago and elsewhere - that an old guy in the local cycling club had with his Doctor. The gist of it was that at your age you should be sitting quietly in a chair and not off on your bike doing 80 mile day rides (which he seemed to complete remarkably well). Many in the medical profession are very knowledgeable and helpful, but there are others …

I've seen people on here saying that their doctor won't believe they can do what they say they actually are doing. I had a doctor who thought that if I can cycle 30 miles there can't be anything wrong. She could no more cycle 30 miles than fly to the moon herself, therefore cycling that far was an unreasonable expectation.

As ever, the advice of your GP and specialist are the key.

I've been repeatedly told both to exercise and not to exercise, so I'm in the wrong whatever I do. When I complained about contradictory advice I was told that engineers are neurotics who can't cope with conflicting information.

It turns out I was born with a bicuspid valve which degrades as you get older. No wonder I could never hit those fast times I was chasing!

I have regurgitation on one of my valves, now you mention it, perhaps that's why my performance has always been poor compared to others.

[joeegg]

I found the heart nurses who i saw after the operation had a very cautious attitude to exercise.
Also two doctors at my local surgery went strictly by what the computer advised.One was seriously aggressive with regards to tablet taking.Beta blockers,aspirin and statins for life.
I am lucky to have a friend who is a medical professor of the old school who actually took time to listen .He advised me on the statins and beta blockers i had been taking.
Beta blockers reduced the heart rate but also choked off my breathing making hill climbing really stressful.Gradually reduced them,heart rate came up,breathing more freely,eventually stopping them completely.
No more aspirin as a small stomach bleed lead to bowel cancer tests.
Statins i could do chapter and verse on but the minimum dose the better.For me at least.

[Cowsham]

What I'd like to know is if a fit cyclist before the heart problems, apart from the OP who explained about an inherited valve problem, what lead to heart problems ?

[Audax67]

What I'd like to know is if a fit cyclist before the heart problems, apart from the OP who explained about an inherited valve problem, what lead to heart problems ?

Three main categories: blocked arteries, rhythm problems and congenital defects. Forget about congenital, you have it or you don't.

Blocked artery causes: cholesterol, tobacco, alcohol. Add diabetes and you're on a fast trip to the operating theatre, don't add diabetes and it's a bit slower. The bike is a great means of slowing it down, but it's not infallible.

Rhythm: Atrial fibrillation, where the atria "flutter" out of sync with the ventricles, is common among ageing cyclists. I get the impression that the more years you've driven your heart at high revs, the more likely this becomes. Several of my chums have it, and they all started cycling ~20 years before I did. One of them died of it. I was a late starter and I haven't got it. Yet.

Another problem could be "heart block", which occurs when the timing pulses generated in the sinoatrial node fail to propagate cleanly to the rest of the heart, so that the heart chambers don't work in sync. One of my friends, once a powerful rider I could never catch on hills, developed this about 10 years ago. He still rides but on an E-bike and not very quickly.

[Cowsham]

What I'd like to know is if a fit cyclist before the heart problems, apart from the OP who explained about an inherited valve problem, what lead to heart problems ?

Three main categories: blocked arteries, rhythm problems and congenital defects. Forget about congenital, you have it or you don't.

Blocked artery causes: cholesterol, tobacco, alcohol. Add diabetes and you're on a fast trip to the operating theatre, don't add diabetes and it's a bit slower. The bike is a great means of slowing it down, but it's not infallible.

Rhythm: Atrial fibrillation, where the atria "flutter" out of sync with the ventricles, is common among ageing cyclists. I get the impression that the more years you've driven your heart at high revs, the more likely this becomes. Several of my chums have it, and they all started cycling ~20 years before I did. One of them died of it. I was a late starter and I haven't got it. Yet.

Another problem could be "heart block", which occurs when the timing pulses generated in the sinoatrial node fail to propagate cleanly to the rest of the heart, so that the heart chambers don't work in sync. One of my friends, once a powerful rider I could never catch on hills, developed this about 10 years ago. He still rides but on an E-bike and not very quickly.

What do you think lead to yours?

[djnotts]

Not actually an answer to OP Q, but slightly relevant I think.

^axel knutt: "I've seen people on here saying that their doctor won't believe they can do what they say they actually are doing. I had a doctor who thought that if I can cycle 30 miles there can't be anything wrong. She could no more cycle 30 miles than fly to the moon herself, therefore cycling that far was an unreasonable expectation."

This. I often feel that medics don't believe that I do cycle up to 35 miles in a day or average over 100 per week, though this is related to COPD (and even just age, 76) rather than heart issues.

I have only very recently had even to think about my heart, after BP issues. It's very confusing. Relationship between Cholesterol and heart rhythm? I apparently have high former plus regular irregular heart beat (PVC) but "ECG was reassuring and did not show AF."

Prescribed statins for the former, although I have not yet decided whether or not to take them. Nothing for BP.

I only found out about BP by chance, so apart from kicking the highest cholesterol foods (cream, cakes, daily luxury hot chocolate, full-fat milk etc) and adding a few foods (e.g. bananas, brown pasta and bread) I have decided to go on as if I don't know. Once over 75 not much changes my (COPD) life expectancy. Indeed, starting statins at near 77 rather questionable. And I would refuse any major heart surgery.

Guess I'm listening to my body (no change) and maybe that's all any of us can do?