How to Stay Healthy with an Artificial Heart?

Answer 1

Heart patients sometimes need surgery to replace their heart valves with artificial valves. These are often made of carbon, metal, or plastic. They actually last a lot longer than biological replacement valves that are made of living tissue.

Despite how many people now live with artificial hearts, the prospect of living with one is still very scary for many people. However, living a full and active lifestyle with an artificial heart is indeed possible. Simply use the steps below to stay healthy with your new heart.

First, maintaining an artificial heart is probably going to require some medication. The medications that are most likely to be prescribed to people with artificial hearts are blood thinners. Blood thinners need to be taken because people with artificial hearts are extra prone to developing dangerous blood clots.

Take this kind of medication as prescribed by your doctor. Also check with your doctor before you start any other kind of medication. Blood thinners interact with certain drugs, and that interaction can be dangerous.

You also need to try to maintain a healthy body in general as well. This will involve maintaining a weight level appropriate for people of your age, gender, and height. To do this, you will probably need to exercise. However, you should only perform exercises that will not put a strain on your heart. You should also not perform any serious exercise directly after surgery. To develop an exercise routine that is suitable for you, consult with your doctor.

Diet will also be an important part of staying healthy with your new heart. However, you should not follow any fad diets you may have read about or seen on TV. Instead, you will receive explicit instructions from your doctor on the kinds of things you can eat with your new heart. This may involve avoiding salt and certain kinds of foods that cause blood clotting. If you stick to the diet provided by your doctor, you should stay healthy.

You should also consider obtaining a medical alert bracelet. If an emergency does occur, this can alert emergency medical technicians of the fact you are taking blood thinners. A patient ID card should also perform a similar function.

You should also alert other medical professionals of your artificial heart and blood thinner medication. Certain medical procedures that may have been routine before your surgery have certain risks for a person with an artificial heart. This can even include dental procedures that use certain kinds of anesthesia or pain killers.