Coronary Bypass Survivors at CC? Please advice

Parent Cafe
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<p>Hi All,</p>

<p>Within 2 weeks of moving our S to his freshman dorms, my husband had to go through a triple bypass surgery(performed on 9/11). Now, I am home with family leave for a month, helping him recuperate.</p>

<p>If any of you parents have gone through a bypass yourself or have a close family member or a friend who has pulled through it, could you kindly post your experiences?</p>

<p>I am keen to know more about the recovery part; how many weeks before they could walk 10-15 mins, how many months before they could fast-walk, or how many years before they could jog?</p>

<p>The initial recovery seems to be incredibly painful and slow…but we remain optimistic.</p>

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<p>My father-in-law has had several heart surgeries, including bypass…and now has a pig valve. It was a long recovery, but he is amazingly healthy and vibrant now (in his early 70s). In fact, we pulled him off a ladder last month…he was up there, in the Texas summer heat, fixing fascia boards before the gutter installers arrived</p>

<p>Imho, you have every reason to be optimistic! :)</p>

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<p>My uncle had a quintuple bypass several years ago at 76 or 77. He was an old New England farmer who worked every single day of his life – no holidays, no weekends no vacations etc – except when he was in the hospital. He had the surgery, went to rehab/nursing home for 3 months for the coldest part of the winter, and came home, went back to work. It’s apparently a surgery that really works. He said he felt like a new man that spring. </p>

<p>It’s worth noting that <em>two</em> doctors dismissed his complaint of a “sore throat” which really meant tightness of the jaw and shoulder area combined with “I feel a lot better when I sit down and rest” during the week before his hospitalization for a heart attack. One of these was his regular doctor, the other a young woman MD who used to keep her horse at his stable, and was at that time doing a cardiology residency (she had stopped by to visit).</p>

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<p>My 40 year old friend, Harry, now has a replacement valve. He had the operation a year and a half ago. He is back to his old self and doing very well. He too was misdiagnosed at first. You would never know he ever had a heart problem now. He is very active and the father of a 1 year old boy.</p>

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<p>My father had quadruple bypass at 77 and his heart is still going strong at 89. He’s slowed down from arthritis, but otherwise is fine. He was in intensive care for 2 days, then was walking a little after 4 or 5 days. His doctor told him he could be discharged if he could walk 5 times around his hospital floor without stopping. He really wanted to go home and was discharged on his 9th day post-op. It wasn’t long before he was walking again, riding his motorcycle, etc. </p>

<p>I think his mental recovery was harder than his physical recovery. He was somewhat depressed for several months, but refused to talk to anyone about it. </p>

<p>Best wishes for a speedy recovery.</p>

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<p>not a cardiac patient, but I am a cardiac nurse…
hit this thread by mistake- go figure-
but since I am here, thought I would respond.</p>

<p>Recovery
All depends.

  1. On any pre-existing dammage (previous heart attacks, CHF, cardiomyopathy, ejection fraction… get that number!)
  2. On any other co-morbidities (other illnesses- hypertension, diabetes, smoking, etc)
  3. age
  4. physical condition pre-op.
  5. open-chest bypass vs. laprascopic (robotic)… the latter has a faster recovery in terms of wound healing, less pain, overall recovery time.</p>

<p>If no heart dammage, no cormorbidities- recovery takes about 6-8- weeks “by the text”…
in my experience (35+ years, most of that as a head nurse of a cardiac ICU)…
most patients start to resume reasonable, low level ADL’s (activities of daily living) by 4 weeks…
walks around the block by 6-10 weeks,
back to “desk” type jobs by 16-24 weeks…
if healthy pre-surgery, most resume “full function” (like getting back to golf and that tennis match) anywhere from 6-12 months… more towards the 12-month end of the range for most (not all, but most)
sex- when you can climb up and down the stairs twice without getting short of breath or getting “tachycardic” (fast heart rate)… (remember- absolutely no viagra… ) … thought I wound mention, since most patients forget to ask, are too embarrassed to ask, or it is a non-issue. In case it is, I mention it.
It all takes time.</p>

<p>What I would suggest is start slow… some walking… first in the house, then to mailbox, then to end of block. Then work on getting around the block. Walk in the mall- one store. Then two. Then get to 3.
Everything in moderation.<br>
Each week, a bit more.</p>

<p>The key is to listen to your body.
If you are tired, rest.
But try to build to a bit more each week.
Report any chest pain, shortness of breath, etc to doc.
Follow diet. Low fat. Forget the salt.
Smoking is history.<br>
Drinking: learn to savor a glass of red wine (recent studies have suggested a postive cardiac effect… go figure!)… like everything else in life, moderation is the key word.</p>

<p>fastwalking/jogging…
give it a year- year plus.
if it happens sooner, good. If not, don’t panic- be patient.
Most docs will do a “stress test” somewhere along the way to assess cardiac function… again, knowing that “ejection fraction” will tell a lot- so that is a number you want to get. Over 30 is the goal… anything higher than that is all good news! 45+… great… 55+… you are as healthy as a horse and time to start helping with the dishes.</p>

<p>In the meantime, most will resume work in about 3-4 months. Some sooner, some later.
Feeling a bit melencholy post-surgery is common. This will fade with time, but it seems to take time for most… 6 -12 months is not uncommon. </p>

<p>Questions to ask (besides knowing your ejection fraction)…
did they use vein grafts or internal mammary? Mammary artery grafts last a lot longer than vein grafts… good to know.
aspirin / plavax / cholesterol agents…yes or no? compliance with regimine… meds, exercise, diet… all important, and all key.
just remember… you are still “on the train”… what caused the coronaries to narrow in the first place is still happening… identify the risk factors you can influence (diet, smoking, control of blood sugar, blood pressure, response to stress, exercise)… understand there are things outside your control (age, genetics, race, gender)…
the bottom line is that bypass does not stop the train… it slows it down some, may even delay it for several years at a particular stop, but it is still moving… so reduce the risk factors that you can. </p>

<p>No doubt lots you can read…American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology… all great sites to research on-line for starters.</p>

<p>Will put in usual plug to “all aging folks out there”… now is as good a time as any to learn CPR… costs but a few bucks and a few hours of your time…worth every penny and minute of it! Contact local chaper of American Heart Association for classes in your area. Not as hard as you think, and you never know when it will come in handy!!</p>

<p>In the meantime,
Hope this helps!</p>

<p>Now I will leave you fine folks and try to find my way back to that thread I was looking for in the first place… have some “old goats” that need some tending over there… ;)</p>

<p>Go Navy! (Beat Air Force…2 weeks and counting… and Beat Army 12/2!!!) :)</p>

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<p>My dad had a heart attack and triple bypass at age 51, and another heart attack and a double bypass at age 58. It took him about a month or two to recover–he did really well. (BTW, when he had the 2nd heart attack, he had just had an excellent stress test a couple days before. Dad swears it was strenuous UPPER BODY exercise that caused the 2nd attack–he was digging a drainage ditch in his yard–like a fool. It makes sense–think of all the guys–including Dad’s neighbor–who’ve died shoveling snow). Just follow your doctor’s advice and don’t push it too fast. Dad is now 73–we never thought he’d make it to 70. He rides a bike for exercise. Good luck!</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your replies! Greatly appreciate all the information.</p>

<p>I will definitely check out AHA and ACC sites as well.</p>

<p>Best wishes</p>