r/openheartsurgery

The rehab program doesn't cost her anything, it's 5 minutes from her home, free parking and me or my dad can drive her.

She is 70 and is annoyed that it's twice a week for 4 months and it's at set times. I think you're not supposed to miss any either. She was expecting to be sent home with a list of exercises she could do on her own.

Anyone have experience with a similar cardiac rehab program? Anyone fine after not doing any rehab? I'm at a loss here. I just keep hearing it is very important for future quality of life for her.

At 23, I was feeling pretty sick one day thinking it was food poisoning or something similar since I was dehydrated and kept puking everything that came in my stomach. 5 days later, went to the emergency and after a whole day of different tests said that my right ventricle was non functionnal and needed a new heart to survive. 2 weeks after, they found a donor and had a successful transplant and still live in good shape today.

2 years post-op here. Before surgery I started using AI to help me actually understand my own chart, my diagnosis, how to explain it to my children, my follow-up questions ... stuff I used to just nod along to in appointments.

It changed a lot for me, not just what I knew, but how calm I felt in knowing things.

Curious if this resonates with anyone else? did any of you try using AI tools during prep or recovery to make sense of your own care? Did it help, or did it just add noise? Genuinely trying to figure out if this is a "me" thing or a real pattern.

Hey there! First time posting in this sub.

I had an aortic root replacement two years ago. Everything went well and I'm feeling mostly very well.

However, since day 4 after the surgery, I developed two symptoms that occasionally occur even to this day.

1. Migraine with aura. The zigzaggy sparkling lines that appear in both eyes. Sometimes a headache follows, sometimes not. An episode will last about 30 min. They have got less frequent over timr.

2. Amaurosis fugax. Temporary partial blindness in one eye. These episodes can range from a small "afterimage" spot in my vision to covering a third of my vision.

It occurs only in one eye at a time, and there's no telling which eye it will be.

It can be hard to determine a trigger, but it happens more often after exercise.

My cardiologist, ophthalmologist, and neuro do not seem very worried about either, and the symptoms haven't gotten worse, so I just deal with it, but I was wondering if others have experienced similar symptoms.

It can be frustrating to try to explain symptoms to people that can't experience what I'm seeing.

Looking forward to hearing from you all!

Posting for insight and experiences from others. May 14th I had OHS to close a 16mm ASD. Recovery has been a breeze up until this past Sunday. I started feeling off then eventually my breathing was constricted & chest felt tight. About 3AM I went to the ER and was very close to being in tamponade, HR upon arrival was 208.

They got my vitals under control and let me know I had pericardial effusion. They tapped into my heart sac through my ribs, drained fluid and then left a drain in for about 24 hours. Today (Thursday) I feel back to normal and fine. My biggest concern is it happening again, I’m on meds to control inflammation.

Has anyone experienced this multiple times or is it commonly a one and done? No infection was found in the lab work & my care team believed this was a slow build up. Being awake and aware during the procedure was terrible, I can not fathom doing that again. Any insight or past experiences are appreciated.

30M

My mom (54) went in for emergency quad bypass surgery on Tuesday June 30. She’s been physically doing okay and healing. The day after her surgery she was still really out of it. Could answer her name and DOB and that’s it. Eventually throughout the day she remembered who my siblings and I were. The next day, it’s been a total mental decline. She can’t say anything but “um” and “hey” and “help me.” She’s making other noises and has tried to say a few things. She keeps trying to get up and move.

She was on a lot of medication that she hasn’t been able to take since surgery. She’s also diabetic so not sure if that plays a role.

The nurses have told us they think it is Hospital Delirium. Anyone have any success stories to share on recovering from delirium and how long it took? What care do I need to be sure she’s getting here in the hospital. This is something I was wholly unprepared to face. They warned us about a lot of other things but this has thrown my siblings and I on how to support and help her.

Also any advice on how to navigate this seeing a loved one like this? It has been extremely emotionally hard.

The nurses are playing this off as normal and it’s all fine but I am terrified because this isn’t like my mom at all. Thank you so much!

My appointment with my cardiologist has been pushed back twice now. First June, Now today, and wanted to reschedule for October.

I’m 6 months out from my surgery and changed medications back in June.

I’m just wondering if it is a common thing for cardiologist to keep pushing back an appointment or do I need to look elsewhere? Thanks

Hiya

I'm 7 weeks post op. I had my first appointment with the cardiac rehab team yesterday and it left me feeling a bit flat.

I was previously pretty fit. I did HIIT and then when arrhythmia made that impossible, lifting. I got pretty good at lifting until I had to give that up too due to heart failure.

The exercise consultant advised me to concentrate on brisk walking to get my cardio up. Fine. Will do. But then when I said 'I can go to the gym and use a treadmill' he was like 'NO GYM'

I tried to get an idea of what I could do in the future once I got better (i'm talking like a year out) and he said my expectations were way too high. He made it sound like it could never go back to the gym and training.

He said no gym, no HIIT, no yoga. So wtf am I supposed to do?

For reference, I'm 46 and female.

I would welcome other people's experiences of returning to training after OHS.

Thanks!

What does CABG look like with low EF and low BP. My aunt was diagnosed with triple vessel disease, her major blood vessels are 90 to 99% blocked with one complete total occlusion. The surgeons are hesitant to answer questions.

Hi everyone,

My dad suffered a blood clot in his heart last Sunday, and he is scheduled to undergo bypass surgery this Wednesday.

I am absolutely terrified and consumed by anxiety. I’m having a really hard time focusing, and it feels like my world has been completely turned upside down since last weekend. To give you some context, my dad is 58, plays soccer, goes to the gym, doesn't smoke, and only enjoys an occasional glass of wine on the weekends.

I already struggle with severe health anxiety, and I honestly cannot imagine a world without him in it.

Could anyone share their experiences with this surgery? I would love to hear from both patients and loved ones who have been through this. For context, he has one artery that is completely blocked and two others that require stents.

My Father is 78 and was having severe shortness of breath. He was in excellent health (push mowing the lawn and lifting weights months ago). Fast forward to now waiting on OHS for two blockages and an atrial valve replacement. To further complicate things, he has a clot in his left ventricle. His nuclear stress test was about a month and a half ago and I did not see the EF but was told it was 27 or 31 (he’s not good with medical stuff). I got in the hospital chart today and the echo done days ago the EF is 21. His liver and kidneys are good, non smoker, social alcohol and not overweight. Looking at his chart it’s hard to believe he was even moving around like he was. Has anyone had “bad” stats and had a good outcome? I am petrified.

Hi everyone,

I am 36m that got a CABG x5 done at the end of May. My recovery has been pretty good so far but one of the things that seem to be persisting is my shortness of breath. I have difficulty taking deep breaths and on most days, it drains my energy.

I have spoken to my surgery team, my primary provider, and they all say it's normal after any OHS.

I want to know from the community here if it is indeed normal and how long did it take you to recover? I am using my spirometer and my flutter valve religiously, like every hour, but if I'm being honest, it doesn't seem to be helping. I have read that Metoprolol may be causing my difficulty with taking deep breathes.

Any input on this is greatly appreciated and honestly would put my mind more at ease and just trust the healing process.

Hi everyone,
I’m posting because my family is trying to understand the situation better and would really appreciate any insights from people who’ve gone through something similar.
My father is:
• 66 years old
• Diabetic (Type 2)
• Had severe COVID pneumonia a few years ago but recovered
• Generally on the thinner side and not physically very strong
He recently underwent coronary angiography, and we’ve been told:
• 3–4 coronary arteries are 80–90% blocked
• One of the major blockages is at the mouth (ostium) of an artery
• The cardiologist feels that stents are unlikely to be successful because of the complexity of the blockages.
• They are recommending Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG/open-heart bypass surgery).

We’re obviously scared and have a lot of questions.
1. Has anyone here (or their family member) undergone CABG with similar multi-vessel disease and diabetes?
2. How was the recovery, especially for someone who wasn’t very physically strong before surgery?
3. How long did it take before they could walk normally and regain strength?
4. What should we expect during the first few weeks after surgery?
5. Is there anything you wish you had known before the operation?
We’re also trying to get a second opinion at AIIMS/Safdarjung, but we’d really value hearing real experiences while we wait.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Any advice or words of encouragement would mean a lot to my family.

How do/did you cope with it?

I (43F) know I've got a damaged heart after a second bout of endocarditis two months ago. I now know I've got a dilated aortic root (48mm) and a sterile, partially healed aortic abscess from a recent CT gated aortogram, on top of my long time moderately leaking bicuspid aortic valve.

I am waiting to meet my surgeon to discuss what to do about it. But I just keep thinking, what if I don't make it to surgery day? What if something bad happens to me? (Stroke, burst aorta etc etc.)

Did anyone have a similar feeling? How do you get through your days not questioning every chest sensation, every deep breath and heart flutter?

I'm sure it'll help to speak to the surgeon but just for the next couple of days, any tips?

Yours gratefully...

I'm doing fine it seems. Taking all my meds. But I am drinking caffeine every day again. Usually a Yerba Madre or a redbull. Just one a day. Also drinking a glass or two of wine every 3 days a week ish. I dont see any Dr's anymore to talk about this with.

Am I in danger again from drinking the wine and caffeine?

My open-heart surgery is coming up in two weeks. After the initial post surgery follow up appointments, I was wondering, if annual stress tests or angiograms are a part of our futures?

45m had cabg x3 on april first. Everything went well and recovery has been progressing well. Started cardiac rehab june 1st. The only annoying part/issue I have is...I am a hairy guy. They shaved me pre op and the hair has been growing since, not back to its full prior glory but the sensation was the most singularly annoying part of this whole process. The surgeons did a fantastic job with my sternotomy incision( it was a resident and a fellow that opened and closed me). In different spots of my incision, there are what look like ingrown hair looking areas where I have had to take tweezers and pull out the fine hairs and not so fine hairs. I would love some input from other hairy guys who have had OHS about what their experience has been like and what they did, if anything, to help with this.