Shortness of breath

Support
1

Hi, i am one year since surgery and good in many ways . But i do find it hard to breathe. My doctors find nothing wrong so i am here seeking support again. I wanna know if others have it or any other side effect?

Thanks

2

It is a known common side effect of ASDs. I still have the problem 11 years later. It comes mostly from going up stairs, running, and going up hills.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/atrial-septal-defect/basics/symptoms/con-20027034

3

Oh dear, I’m just 3 weeks since open heart surgery to put a patch on my ASD that was over 3 cm, I was breathless before and though the doctors can’t say for definate how much better I will be they are certain I will be lots better, this has worried me a bit, has anyone else found this after surgery or felt fine. I’m a 47 year old female and was only diagnosed 18 months ago

4

I felt a lot better after the surgery. I was able to lift more at the gym and perform better in sports after my surgery. You can read my story if you would like (click on my username and click on topics). I just still have some problems with shortness of breath, but it’s not as bad as it was before surgery.

5

Hi Andrew, this link talks about breathlessness before the surgery and not after. I dont know what to make of it as I spoke to my cardiologists and they say I am fine and should not be breathless - one doctor has ascribed it to me being over weight. LOL

Anyways thanks for your support if you have it even after 11 years then I guess it is part of the side effects. Doctors keep saying that post surgery there are no side effects so thats a bummer when I experience the opposite.

Thanks a lot for responding though.

I also remember we spoke some time back. Hope you are better now.

Regards
Ashish

6

I had ASD repair in 2/15/17 after being diagnosed in October 2016. I am 49 and was unaware that I had a defect in my heart. I had open heart Surgery to repair and my breathing has definately improved, I am even back to running!

7

I just spoke to my doctor today and a medication I was taking was probably the reason making it harder to breathe. I had problems before the medication but the medication made it worse. I’m switching to something else. I think I also had such a hard time even this long after surgery because my hole was extremely large (4.5 cm or 1.77 inch) and I still have a hole in my heart after surgery. A bubble test confirmed I still had a somewhat large hole and I also was confirmed having a large heart murmur by an anesthesiologist.

8

Andrew, sad to hear that you still have a hole in the heart, i hope they can treat it. I dont seem to have any more holes unless they are missed out. At times the body keeps its secrets from medicine/ specialists that can be the only reason why a lot of ASD is detected in later years

9

I might go back on Propanolol to help with the heart problems. I’m pretty sure the medications I was taking called Lexapro and Wellbutrin were causing the problems. Both are known to cause heart problems like increased heart rate or shortness of breath. I didn’t care because my depression and anxiety have been bad enough to where I wanted to try it anyway. Reckless behavior is a part of my depression. Hopefully my new medication will help and not cause heart problems.