Mended Hearts Open Forum

Hi All!  My name is Millie and I had Open Heart surgery last March. I had a aortic valve & aortic root replacement and now have a mechanical valve in place.  This has been a long journey of ups & downs. I've had to deal with the emotional changes related to fear & anxiety and also the post op symptoms that I still deal with now.  Which I think I didn't expect as I will be coming up on year 2 in March'26. The most uncomfortable is I still have some days where I experience chest pressure & tightness, especially weather/activity related. I also have been experiencing vision related issues since surgery, I have random episodes where my vision becomes blurry and I now wear glasses.  I've had all different tests and scans run to make sure there is nothing that needs to be addressed but everything has come back fine.  

My last episode was back in Sept. I'm used to having good and bad days sporadically but this lasted for 7 days straight.  I went to the ER 3x times because the pressure was so intense, they ran all the needed tests- xrays, CT scan and then finally they decided to keep me overnight to do a echo. Everything came back ok. But the feeling was real. Currently I think the most I struggle with is fear every time I have a uncomfortable feeling- I find myself always thinking something is wrong. I'm currently dealing with a mild pressure flare up again.  I just want to feel good again, my goal one day is to run my first 5K.  I'm taking day by day but definitely in need of support of a community that understands. Thanks for listening!

Hi All!  My name is Millie and I had Open Heart surgery last March. I had a aortic valve & aortic root replacement and now have a mechanical valve in place.  This has been a long journey of ups & downs. I've had to deal with the emotional changes related to fear & anxiety and also the post op symptoms that I still deal with now.  Which I think I didn't expect as I will be coming up on year 2 in March'26. The most uncomfortable is I still have some days where I experience chest pressure & tightness, especially weather/activity related. I also have been experiencing vision related issues since surgery, I have random episodes where my vision becomes blurry and I now wear glasses.  I've had all different tests and scans run to make sure there is nothing that needs to be addressed but everything has come back fine.  

My last episode was back in Sept. I'm used to having good and bad days sporadically but this lasted for 7 days straight.  I went to the ER 3x times because the pressure was so intense, they ran all the needed tests- xrays, CT scan and then finally they decided to keep me overnight to do a echo. Everything came back ok. But the feeling was real. Currently I think the most I struggle with is fear every time I have a uncomfortable feeling- I find myself always thinking something is wrong. I'm currently dealing with a mild pressure flare up again.  I just want to feel good again, my goal one day is to run my first 5K.  I'm taking day by day but definitely in need of support of a community that understands. Thanks for listening!

Hi All!  My name is Millie and I had Open Heart surgery last March. I had a aortic valve & aortic root replacement and now have a mechanical valve in place.  This has been a long journey of ups & downs. I've had to deal with the emotional changes related to fear & anxiety and also the post op symptoms that I still deal with now.  Which I think I didn't expect as I will be coming up on year 2 in March'26. The most uncomfortable is I still have some days where I experience chest pressure & tightness, especially weather/activity related. I also have been experiencing vision related issues since surgery, I have random episodes where my vision becomes blurry and I now wear glasses.  I've had all different tests and scans run to make sure there is nothing that needs to be addressed but everything has come back fine.  

My last episode was back in Sept. I'm used to having good and bad days sporadically but this lasted for 7 days straight.  I went to the ER 3x times because the pressure was so intense, they ran all the needed tests- xrays, CT scan and then finally they decided to keep me overnight to do a echo. Everything came back ok. But the feeling was real. Currently I think the most I struggle with is fear every time I have a uncomfortable feeling- I find myself always thinking something is wrong. I'm currently dealing with a mild pressure flare up again.  I just want to feel good again, my goal one day is to run my first 5K.  I'm taking day by day but definitely in need of support of a community that understands. Thanks for listening!

Hi All!  My name is Millie and I had Open Heart surgery last March. I had a aortic valve & aortic root replacement and now have a mechanical valve in place.  This has been a long journey of ups & downs. I've had to deal with the emotional changes related to fear & anxiety and also the post op symptoms that I still deal with now.  Which I think I didn't expect as I will be coming up on year 2 in March'26. The most uncomfortable is I still have some days where I experience chest pressure & tightness, especially weather/activity related. I also have been experiencing vision related issues since surgery, I have random episodes where my vision becomes blurry and I now wear glasses.  I've had all different tests and scans run to make sure there is nothing that needs to be addressed but everything has come back fine.  

My last episode was back in Sept. I'm used to having good and bad days sporadically but this lasted for 7 days straight.  I went to the ER 3x times because the pressure was so intense, they ran all the needed tests- xrays, CT scan and then finally they decided to keep me overnight to do a echo. Everything came back ok. But the feeling was real. Currently I think the most I struggle with is fear every time I have a uncomfortable feeling- I find myself always thinking something is wrong. I'm currently dealing with a mild pressure flare up again.  I just want to feel good again, my goal one day is to run my first 5K.  I'm taking day by day but definitely in need of support of a community that understands. Thanks for listening!

Hi All!  My name is Millie and I had Open Heart surgery last March. I had a aortic valve & aortic root replacement and now have a mechanical valve in place.  This has been a long journey of ups & downs. I've had to deal with the emotional changes related to fear & anxiety and also the post op symptoms that I still deal with now.  Which I think I didn't expect as I will be coming up on year 2 in March'26. The most uncomfortable is I still have some days where I experience chest pressure & tightness, especially weather/activity related. I also have been experiencing vision related issues since surgery, I have random episodes where my vision becomes blurry and I now wear glasses.  I've had all different tests and scans run to make sure there is nothing that needs to be addressed but everything has come back fine.  

My last episode was back in Sept. I'm used to having good and bad days sporadically but this lasted for 7 days straight.  I went to the ER 3x times because the pressure was so intense, they ran all the needed tests- xrays, CT scan and then finally they decided to keep me overnight to do a echo. Everything came back ok. But the feeling was real. Currently I think the most I struggle with is fear every time I have a uncomfortable feeling- I find myself always thinking something is wrong. I'm currently dealing with a mild pressure flare up again.  I just want to feel good again, my goal one day is to run my first 5K.  I'm taking day by day but definitely in need of support of a community that understands. Thanks for listening!