Outcome of surgery

I had mitral surgery which was a repair and not replacement on Dec. 8th,,, When I first came out I had chills which were so bad I would take warm baths just to get warmed up, is this normal for most,,,,, The chills have just about gone and for sure not as bad, I am now driving with no pain but I do notice my heart rate is much higher that it was before.  I use to be at about 68 to 78 and am now from about 100 to 140, is this normal ?  I still have some shortness of breath but they say it is normal to take up to 6 months to feel the full affects of mv surgery.  Thanks for all your help and the help of others that contacted me prior to my surgery.  It was the minimal surgery even though they did break one of my ribs when doing this it was still much better then the full sternotomy.  If anyone wants to contact me about this surgery feel free at  ***@****

Thanks again for being there!
Oh, they put me on digoxin while in the hospital which in the past has given me all types of arrythmias,, he said he thought the arrythmias were the cause and wants to keep me on it.  I find that tiazac works better since I was on this prior to the surgery, and it does tend to bring my heart rate down,, any thoughts on this one.  thanks

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

It is not uncommon to have some elevation in heart rate following surgery.  This can last up to 6 months.  Some of this is due to the surgery itself and some of it due to deconditioning from lack of activity during the peri-operative period.

We tend to not use as much digoxin here as some other doctors do but this is up to your doctor.

[Susan]

I'm glad your surgery went well.  I had aortic valve replacement with a St. Judes mechanical last February.  Within the past couple of months, I have finally been enjoying more full effects of the surgery.  Although I didn't have much in the way of symptoms before, I can really now see the difference.  I too had some shortness of breath for quite a while and am noticing that my breath is getting better than I can ever remember and my energy level is terrific.  I have been exercising with walking, etc. since a week after the surgery, but it has all been worth it and it does get better with time.  Since you had repair and minimally invasive surgery, you will probably feel the positive effects much sooner.  But walk, walk, walk!   Good luck!

[Alan]

Thanks for the comments Susan,, I have been walking about 25 min twice a day for about the last week.  I am still at only 3 mph but burn about 100 calories with this activity.  I do appreacite all the help and I hope you are correct in that I am still somewhat short of breath but it has only been 2.5 weeks since the surgery.  Thanks

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Thanks for the comments.