Life after aortic valve replacement surgery
After you have recovered from aortic valve replacement surgery, you will probably feel better than you did before you had the surgery. It may take several weeks for your recovery, including healing your incisions. You should no longer experience chest pain, fainting, and difficulty breathing. However, you may still experience symptoms of heart disease if your left ventricle is severely impaired.
If you have a mechanical valve (made of plastic, metal, or cloth), you will need to take blood thinners (anticoagulants) such as warfarin (for example, Coumadin) for the rest of your life to keep blood clots from forming on your valve surfaces. If you have a biological valve (made of animal or human tissue), you need to take anticoagulants immediately after surgery while your body adapts to your new valve. However, most people who have biological valves can stop taking anticoagulants within 3 months after surgery and just take aspirin.
You must be careful when using blood thinners because there are risks associated with their use. The major risk is that your blood may become too thin. This means you will bruise more easily, bleed more heavily from minor injury, or even bleed spontaneously. You should visit your doctor regularly to have your blood clotting monitored.
Your doctor will also use these visits to monitor you for other potentially serious side effects. In addition, because many medications can interact with blood thinners, always talk to your doctor before starting or changing any medications.
You also will need to take antibiotics at certain times to prevent an infection of the valve or to prevent rheumatic fever if you are at risk for it.
| Author: | Robin Parks, MS | Last Updated: November 14, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine George Philippides, MD - Cardiology | |
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