One Year Open Heart Surgery Anniversary: An Update

I found this post as a draft that I wrote just a few months after my surgery. (Read on to a more recent update):

"How's that heart?"...That's the question I am getting so much these days. My loved ones all want to know how I'm feeling. And since those who see me in person are asking, I figured I'd answer that question for my buddies who I don't get to see very often.

I. FEEL. GREAT.

I literally feel like I have new heart. What a difference a little plumbing makes, when it comes to the ol' ticker:)

Obviously, my heart condition was life threatening so I'm glad the surgery has eliminated that risk. But life-threatening or not, my heart was giving me problems on a daily basis and it was only getting worse with time. Chest pain and severe palpitations had become a part of my everyday and while sometimes random, there were certain activities that were sure to trigger problems.

I obviously didn't finish or post that update so I thought I'd include it with this new update:


As time went on and more time passed since my surgery, I began to have more issues with my heart. While my symptoms weren't as bad as they were before open heart surgery, they were still bothersome and seemed to be getting worse with time.

After some tests, we recently discovered that my heart has developed scar tissue where the surgery was done. This scar tissue develops over time which explains why I felt so good after surgery but got worse with each passing day.  It turns out that the scar tissue was interfering with the heart's electrical system. This didn't sound too good but the good news is that the doctor had two fixes for the problem.

The first solution is a procedure is called ablation,  where he would go into the heart via catheter, and burn away the scar tissue. But before trying that, he suggested another option: medication. I'm not a big fan of medication but I'm not a big fan of another heart procedure either so we decided to give the meds a try. And...

My chest pain and irregular heart beats are now a thing of the past! The medication has taken care of 99% of my symptoms and all that with no side effects from the medication. I am so happy that I think I tell someone every day about how good I feel.

So here I am, 1 year later, and I feel AMAZING!! I'm running almost everyday and am even thinking about training for a marathon again...  I may be pushing 40 but I feel 20! 

Thanks everyone for your prayers and encouragement this past year. I have been so blessed.


*I also spent the last 6 months having my varicose veins in my legs treated so my legs feel great, too!!(I'll do a post with before and after pictures soon)