So far, I haven't noticed any improvement. In fact, right now during the recovery phase I'm losing my breath a lot faster than I used to. Perhaps once I'm completely healed I'll feel a difference, but it certainly hasn't been night and day like many people I've talked to have experienced.

I think that fact made day two after the surgery that much harder. I was in an incredible amount of pain and I had a hard time understanding why I allowed them to do this to me. However, now that I'm a week out and the pain is quite manageable I can understand that even though I wasn't symptomatic, the leaky valve was starting to damage my heart and I got it fixed before that damage made the problem that much worse. So in the long run the surgery was the right decision.

One difference I definitely notice is how my heart sounds. During those times at night when you can hear your heart beating, it used to be more of dull thud with a whooshing sound. Now it's a definite "wham" every time my heart beats, leaving no doubt that the valve has closed and isn't letting any blood flow backwards like it used to. I can also sometimes hear the "click" of the mechanical valve opening and closing, which isn't troublesome, just an interesting observance.