Jul 14, 2012, 3:57 PM
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Skydiving after open heart surgery
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I was wondering if anyone knows how long you should wait to skydive after having open heart surgery with a valve replacement. I am sure my surgeon will tell me, but I think the answer maybe different coming from a jumper. Any skydivers that have had this issue? Your advice would be greatly appreciated btw I am 33 years old and in good shape otherwise.
Jul 14, 2012, 4:36 PM
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Re: [skybadiver] Skydiving after open heart surgery
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Nobody who is not a trained medical professional is qualified to answser this. Individual non-professional anecdotal experiences, without more, are greatly overrated.
Jul 15, 2012, 10:01 AM
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Re: [Andy9o8] Skydiving after open heart surgery
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I understand each one is different and I am not looking for a specific answer. A general idea would be great from someone who does not think skydiving is dangerous and stupid (ie. my doctor)
Jul 15, 2012, 12:33 PM
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Re: [skybadiver] Skydiving after open heart surgery
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I know at least one skydiver who has had open heart surgery at about your age. Shit went south on an open water professional dive and he almost died. Not sure how long it took him to recover and jump again. He doesn't get on here anymore though. I'll ask though.
Jul 15, 2012, 12:42 PM
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Re: [skybadiver] Skydiving after open heart surgery
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I understand each one is different and I am not looking for a specific answer. A general idea would be great from someone who does not think skydiving is dangerous and stupid (ie. my doctor)
Oh, I understand completely. I, too, have had doctors who were unwilling to give me a direct answer to "(When) can I skydive again?" because they disapproved of or didn't want to "enable" my skydiving.
Your choices are to either find a doctor willing to give you a direct, non-self-serving answer if you use the word "skydive" in your question, or to ask your doctor a more generic question about active sports, stressful activities, etc.
But I say again: personal-experience medical anecdotes by non-experts (in medicine) are overrated, because their small sampling group (often "one"), plus their lack of (actual) expertise in the subject area (here, medicine) results in an unduly high chance of error due to over- or under-emphasis of key factors. In other words: best to ask a doctor, not a non-medical skydiver.
(This post was edited by Andy9o8 on Jul 15, 2012, 12:44 PM)
Jul 15, 2012, 1:35 PM
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Re: [skybadiver] Skydiving after open heart surgery
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You have to find a doctor you can be honest with. That way, if he tells you that you really can't skydive again, you'll believe him (or her).
If the doctor just thinks skydiving is insane, that's one thing. But if you're at greater risk for a torn aorta (as an example), then I'd say it might not be the best sport choice any more.
Find a doctor you can trust, and who will give you good details about your physical condition. Hand-waving and "bad-bad-scary" isn't an answer, is it.
btw I am 33 years old and in good shape otherwise. 
