NOT for me! But one of my best friends just had a double bypass, less than a month after her 40th birthday She’d had a mild heart attack in December and had stents placed, but thanks to her diabetes the stents were rejected and they had to go medieval and crack her open to bypass.
It’s been a week and a half now since the surgery and it just now occurred to me to ask you guys if anyone had any tips for her during recovery. She got a pamphlet from the hospital and all but that’s about it. And as you can imagine we don’t know many other folks our age who have had the surgery!
She’s got a lift chair from her grandpa’s house, so that’s a godsend. She’ll be sleeping in that for another week. She seems to want to hold a pillow to her chest all the time for comfort.
She needs to walk as much as possible. At least a mile a day.
Go to a shopping mall and make a few laps. The speed isn’t important.
Also, if they gave her an inspirometer, she should use it. It’s easy to get pneumonia if you don’t inhale deeply, which is the tendency if your chest hurts.
Yes, walk a lot and use the inspirometer. But why is she not sleeping in a bed? Didn’t she sleep in a bed in the hospital?
How are her post-surgery medications working? I had quadruple bypass surgery (plus aortic valve replacement), and I had a tough time getting the new prescriptions adjusted. My blood pressure kept dropping. I had to be re-admitted to the hospital to get it all straightened out?
How is the incision healing? Are the pain meds working adequately?
The bottom line is: She should do what her doctors tell her to do. She should have received extensive instructions, not merely “a pamphlet.” If she has any problems or questions, she should contact her own caregivers, not a friend’s strangers on a message board.
(If her surgery was done at the Cleveland Clinic, she is receiving the best of care, including home healthcare workers. Tell her to take advantage of it, especially the post-op exercises.)
Do the breathing exercises (the inspirometer mentioned above), and that pillow she is hugging is probably part of that. Coughing is painful and can be damaging after surgery that opens up your chest, and hugging that pillow holds things together a bit during a coughing jag. My father had open heart surgery, and because he didn’t do the breathing exercises and hug the pillow while coughing, he managed to pull the wires that were holding his rib cage together (during healing), resulting in more surgery and longer healing time.
I found having lots of pillows useful for sleep. I used different firmnesses for different places to prop up.
I had more issues with fatigue than pain. Only needed pain meds for sleeping because of the obvious stress on the incision when shifting around.
Found out after the fact that they wanted the walking part to be as much cardio as possible. I was just lumbering around museums trying to rack up some mileage.
On a related note. After I had heart surgery I apparently had afib events even though there is little evidence of it in the hospital. Afib causes blood clots in the heart. They break off and can go up to your brain, into your chest or down to your leg. Very bad news.
I had a blood clot that wasn’t diagnosed properly until my whole leg was plugged up. Spent more time in the hospital over that than the heart valve repair. They worked backwards to find the source of the clot and it was in my heart. In the space of less than a year a clot over 3 inches formed.
I mention this so that it can be discussed with the Cardiologist. I’m not in the medical field but it makes me wonder how many people die from this and the cause doesn’t get linked to the heart surgery.
It must be common enough that they’re actively advertising medicine to deal with afib.
She was in a bed but propped up in the hospital. Because of her size and shape (big boobs) if she’s in a regular bed, she’s stuck. So she doesn’t feel safe getting into a bed yet.
She’s actually got high blood pressure but it seems to be from anxiety. So, she’s working with her nurse to look into anxiety meds.
Welp, no infection so far. She’s diabetic so that doesn’t help. Pain meds are taking the edge off, and usually when she takes them she falls asleep which isn’t a bad thing.
Oh, no doubt. She’s got a great cardiologist and nurse care. I was just looking for real-life experience, tips and tricks that might not be in the stuff she’s gotten from the doctor.
She’s with University Hospitals, which still is good stuff. Nurse care is great and she’s gotten help from them. I’m just looking for the stuff inbetween.
Oh yeah and…I didn’t know about the walking! I asked her and she knew but she hasn’t mentioned it to me
She lives in a great little neighborhood for walking - sidewalks, flat, not too big - but unfortunately it’s been a million degrees and humid here so she’s not trying to be outside. She made it out to the store last night (her husband drove, of course) so that’s good. I’ll feel better pushing her to walk, now.
Get a dog! Bear with me… my father had a triple bypass several years ago, and knew he had to walk a lot. My brother ‘loaned’* him his collie/lab cross, to force him to go out twice a day. It was a lifesaver, probably literally.
It’s hard to force yourself to do regular exercise if you aren’t used to it. When you have an energetic dog, you have no choice.
I also remember my Dad was put on a very strict diet - don’t remember the details - but he followed it religiously and is still alive and well 20 years later (now in his early 90s). Many of his friends with heart trouble gave up on the diet, and are now long gone.
*My brother was going through a divorce, and in the end neither of them had house room for a big dog, so Danny Dog ended up living with my parents until he passed several years later.
She won’t be able to start this right away, but there should be a Cardiac Rehab program available to her. In my case it was right in the hospital and I started it a couple of months after the surgery (time to allow the breastbone to heal and other concerns). Her insurance should cover the cost.
The program is basically a supervised exercise program with physical therapists and RN’s in charge. They get people doing a variety of exercises such as walking on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike, exercises for arms, backs and shoulders and some dumbbell exercises. The folks in charge will show her how to do all these and push her to gradually increase the intensity, with an emphasis on building a strong heart. It is a great opportunity to build the habit of an exercise regime.
We were just talking about that cardiac rehab tonight, and so far she has been DENIED insurance for it because she’s too young (40). I realize younger people will heal faster than older people but she still did have her chest flayed open like everyone else. And she’s diabetic so is she really a better healer?
She’s got an insurance advocate through her husband’s work so hopefully they get that settled. It’s like $300/visit for cardiac rehab otherwise.
We hung out a bit today and she said she felt the best she’s felt thus far since her surgery. Her swelling was way down. Said she did walk this morning before it got too hot. She went to the store for a minute. I made her walk. Slow but good.
She’d had a mild heart attack in December and had stents placed, but thanks to her diabetes the stents were rejected and they had to go medieval and crack her open to bypass.