shortness of breath

[Lemony]

I had mvp repair done in April fo this year.  Operation was a success.  I had severe regurgitation prior to the repair.  The MVP is gone and there is no leak detected after surgery.  My heart is working great.  Yet...I still get severely short of breath when going up stairs.  I cannot even walk a very fast pace without getting out of breath.  Is this normal?

Second question, I would think now that my heart is working better, my circulation would be better.  It seems to have gotten worse.  I am off all meds (stopped atenolol completely over one week ago), yet I am always cold.  Especially my hands and feet.  There are times that I am so cold that even with socks, sweaters, warm liquids, I cannot get warm.  Is this normal?

[dlr86]

My Mom recently had a triple bypass and aortic valve replacement. After three weeks, she is still in the hospital, mainly because of the incision in her leg where the doctors took vein for bypass.  

  The other day the doctors took out the staples in the incision and mom had what was called a Vagel reaction (symptoms similar to shock).  She was very cold, pulse weak, skin gray and clammy,
and was in an unconscious state, with eyes open and glazed, and mumbling and right side limp. This only lasted a few seconds, until we could get her head lowered. Everything returned to normal within seconds after we laid her head down. I asked the doctor if she was having a stroke. At first he said she might be having a mini stroke but later called it a vagel reaction.

My question is....what exactly is a vagel reaction. Is it another name for shock? and how dangerous is it.
She had been grimacing from the pain as the doctor took our her
staples in her leg just prior to the episode.  

Afterward about 10 minutes she sat up and we moved her to the hospital. We spend a few minutes explaining to her why we were taking to her to the hospital(because of her leg)and she agreed it was the right thing to do. However, about 5 minutes after that,she had completed erased from memory the fact that we were going over to the hospital. She thought she was going home.
The memory loss makes me think she might have had a mini stroke.

[Lemony]

John, I was having a problem with my pc, or I would have responded earlier.  I hope you found the other sites suggested by others helpful.  The heart form is a valuable site and it is hard to get on.  Keep trying though.  Best times are in the mornings during the week (M-F).  You will have better odds.

[John Mc]

Thanks for your suggestions

[Chris-a]

Another site I visit regularly is About.com  (heart disease/cardiology)

[ajsully]

There are a couple of great boards at

http://health.excite.com/message_board

just scroll down to the heart section.  I hope this was helpful.
Amy

[little debbie]

I do not know of another site where you can post a question & get it answered. This one is great. I have always been able to post questions with a little persistence. "The early bird gets the worm!"
I CAN give you the email address of a cardiologist who will answer your question. If you're interested,email me ***@****

[John Mc]

Does anyone know of another forum where I could get on to post a question and get it answered?

Please don't interpret this as being sarcastic I really appreciate the information posted here and understand the volume of questions but I need to get an answere.

Thanks

[CCF-M.D.-CRC]

Dear Lemony,
Shortness of breath as a symptom can be due to many different factors.  I think we can exclude regurgitation as a source of the complaint given the echo findings.  Other things I would be concerned about at this point would include: deconditioning, pulmonary embolism, decreased heart pumping function and lung conditions.  

As far as the coldness you are feeling I can't give you a good reason.  It may be a lingering side-effect of a medication you were taking or it is possible you have peripheral vascular disease in addition to the heart problems.