Open heart surgery is serious business. Doctors are operating on your heart, which makes it one of the most high-stakes procedures around. The recovery from the many surgeries that require the open heart technique (a long cut down the center of the chest) can take weeks just to feel even a semblance of your former self.
Hospitalization
Immediately following open heart surgery, the patient is attached to catheters, IV fluids, and all sorts of machines to monitor vital measurements like pulse, respiratory rate, and blood pressure. The first night is generally spent in an intensive care unit, where there are constant medical care workers to ensure everything is going well through the extremely dangerous first day. After ICU, the patient is generally moved into the normal care unit of the hospital, often staying there for about a week.
Going Home
Even after leaving the hospital, the patient won't back up to 100% functioning. It can take six weeks to feel normal again. During this time, plan to spend a lot of it relaxing. Preparing beforehand is going to make recovering a lot easier if you don’t have to worry about how you’re going to manage everything afterward.
Have someone available to help you out. Even just cooking dinner may be enough to exhaust you, so accept help when it’s offered. Take time before you leave for surgery to make sure your environment is laid out to allow you maximum efficiency with minimal effort. You’ll want clothes that aren’t difficult to put on or painful to wear, and the things you need should be within easy reach. Even putting on a bra or tying your shoes is going to be hard. Talk carefully with your cardiologist and pain specialist about any medication you’ll need to be taking.
Long Term
After surgery, it's important not to expect to return to your old self immediately. Some open heart surgeries can take up to six months for the benefits to really be obvious. And the more you push yourself in the meantime, the harder it’s going to be for your new and improved heart to try to keep up with you. A change in diet and lifestyle can help not only make this surgery more effective, but also help prevent future such surgeries.
