Unfortunately I'll be going into surgery next week to replace my bicuspid aortic valve that I was diagnosed with back in 2008. I am completely asymptomatic (or at least I think I am) but during a recent cardiologist visit they found that the regurgitation has gotten much worse which is causing my left ventricle to become severely enlarged. My cardiologist put an immediate stop to any strenuous activity which includes running of course. So long story short I'll be going under the knife on the 25th.
Has anyone here had any experience with heart valve replacement? If so, how long were you out of running? Were you ever able to get back to your pre-surgery race times / distances? If so, how long did that take?
I'm not looking for medical advice but I'm curious about other runners' experiences. I'm not going to disobey doctors orders and rush back too soon but I'm not sure really what to expect either. As somewhat common as this procedure is I can't seem to find a lot of information about recovery for runners. Most accounts I've read have been from older patients and non runners. I'm relatively young for this type of surgery (31) and was running 40-50 miles a week up until a few weeks ago when I was told to stop. My surgeon and cardiologist have both said that my age and fitness will certainly help with recovery and that I will be able to continue running again. For reference my most recent races were completed in the fall with a marathon time of 2:48 and a half marathon time of 1:16.
Anyway just looking for any other experiences or anecdotes.