Hi all.
First of all, I'm so great full for a forum like this. Leading up to my procedure, and after, I was very concerned about needing open heart surgery for my mitral regurgitation. Like a lot of people I Googled about it and OMG, what a mistake. At the same time I found educating myself about my condition would only let me be a better advocate for myself and my health. I found MedHelp to be a good balance of information and experiences that works for me.
So here's my issue. I'm a 43 year old male who is in fair condition/shape. 5' 9" and 195lbs. Somewhat active lifestyle etc. On Nov 6 2015 I had a mitral valve repair (3 torn chordae tendineae). I spent about 4 days in the hospital to recover but needed to go back due to fluid build up in my paracardium. They performed a paracardial window and I was back in for another 4 days. Once I got out my heart rhythm was in bigeminy/trigeminy for about a week. I went in to see my cardiologist thinking someone was wrong and was told it was harmless and somewhat expected while my heart and brain resynced it's electrical pulses. Sure enough a few days after I was back in normal rhythm.
3 weeks post op I started cardiac rehab. I started off with just walking a slow pace on the treadmill while they monitored my heart. About a week later I was told I was a good candidate for HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) while there at the rehab center. After the first session, I was told they saw some PVC's on the monitor during and after the exercises. This was sent to the medical director for review and I was taken off the program because they thought I needed a bit more time.
For the last few weeks I noticed that my heart rate was slightly elevated when I arrived at the rehab facility. Prior to starting any exercises I would come in between 95-105 bpm. The staff referred to this as my baseline and resting heart rate. During exercise I would reach anywhere between 135-160 depending on the exercises. During cool down and meditation sessions (~10 mins before ending the workouts) I would drop down to about 100-104bpm while others in the class (mostly elderly patients) would drop to 60's and 70's. The staff mentioned a few times they thought my heart rate was a little high at these readings and have also noticed some ectopic beats during and after the exercises. They sent a note to my cardiologist to get his opinion and I'm scheduled for a follow up next week along with getting a Zio patch monitor put on so they can capture a 2 week reading.
Here are my questions:
1) I've been getting conflicting information about what is the proper way to get my resting heart rate. When I wake up in the morning, my HR is 70-74bpm. Once I get up to start my day it goes to roughly 85-100 depending on what I'm doing. If I sit down, it will usually drop to low to mid 80's. Is my resting HR 70-74 or the rate when I'm sitting during the day?
2) Regarding the ectopic beats, I've read that these are relatively harmless especially since I don't get these in runs. They're usually one-se two-se's here and there. However, I also read that these can be a bad sign if they are induced by exersion, ie: exercise. Some also say that they're benign if coming from a healthy structured heart. I've had an angiogram/pre cath done and I have no coronary disease or blockage. With my mitral valve repair done does my heart still qualify for "structurally good"?
Sorry for the long winded recap before posting my questions. I figured it'd be best to give some background too.
