r/openheartsurgery

My 35f, Dad 57m had a double bypass today and is in the ICU still intubated. While the nurse did say he is responding to commands and such just seeing him with all those wires and everything is scaring me. I feel like a terrible daughter not being able to be in his room for more than 5 minutes, my mom 55f and brother 36m are with him.
They had originally wanted extubation today they are now saying tomorrow. Is this something I should be worried about?

Everybody's doctor gave them some instruction on when they could drive again. So I'm curious, what did your doctor say about when you could drive again, and alluding to the title, when did you actually do it?

Basically I’m 21 F and have 2 leaky valves, the surgeon is giving me only 2 options of, (I forgot the name) surgery every few years, like 10 years or so, or a mechanical replacement which I would have to live on really strong blood thinners my whole life.
Now I also have hs which is an auto immune condition which causes me to get bumps and they turn into open wounds and bleed; right now I’m in the hospital and they’re giving me a super low does of blood thinners just to not get blood clots and I have blood everywhere 24/7. Then also I have never been able to take care of myself properly, which is probably the reason this is happening to me at such a young age, so how am i supposed to keep up with making sure I don’t die, keeping up with meds so my heart won’t clot when I can’t even get up just to eat, I have adhd and it makes everything I do a million times harder to just DO IT, I’ve had infections bc of my hs and would have to go back to the doctor bc I wasn’t taking my meds probably.
I’m just really stressed out and don’t know what to do…

I walked back into my townhouse carrying a heart that had been rebuilt. Just days earlier, Dr. Nishant Dinesh Patel had opened my chest for an aortic reconstruction and bypass procedure that took four hours in the operating room. Now the monitors were gone, the ICU was behind me, and the long hallways of cardiac rehab had been replaced by the quiet reality of recovery at home.

Nothing fully prepares you for the strange emotional moment of returning home after major heart surgery. Part of me expected to feel instantly normal simply because I was no longer in a hospital bed. Instead, I discovered that recovery is measured less in dramatic moments and more in small victories.

The first thing I noticed was the exhaustion. Even simple things like standing up, walking across a room, adjusting pillows, getting comfortable in a chair now suddenly require planning and energy. My body feels like it has been through a war because, in many ways, it has. Dr. Petal had to cut through my sternum to reach my heart, repaired what needed repairing, performed the bypass, and then wired my chest back together so the bone can heal over the coming weeks.

Every movement reminds me of that healing process. There is soreness deep in my chest, especially when I cough, shift positions, or try to push myself too quickly. It is not the sharp pain many people imagine. It feels more like intense bruising and pressure, as though my chest has become aware of every breath I take. Sleeping is difficult. Finding the right position can take time, and rest comes in shorter stretches than normal.

Yet beneath all of that discomfort is something stronger: relief.

For a long time, my heart had been struggling against disease. The aortic valve problem caused by my bicuspid valve had gradually forced my heart to work harder and harder. Now that the damaged system has been repaired. Even through the fatigue, I can already sense subtle changes, moments where my breathing feels easier or my heartbeat feels steadier.

The Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center prepared me well before release. By Monday, only days after surgery, I had already started walking in cardiac rehab. At first, it was slow, careful movement down hospital corridors with nurses nearby and monitors attached. Every day became a little easier. Those early walks were not about exercise. They were about teaching my body and my mind that life was beginning again.

Now at home, walking remains one of the most important parts of recovery.

Several times a day, I get up and move, even when I do not feel like it. Some walks are only a few minutes long. The goal is not speed or distance. The goal is healing. Each walk helps rebuild stamina, protects my lungs, improves circulation, and slowly restores confidence.

The emotional side of recovery is something people do not talk about enough.

There are moments of gratitude so powerful that they are overwhelming. There are also moments of vulnerability. Heart surgery changes the way you think about time, mortality, and the incredible fragility of the human body. One week you are preparing for open-heart surgery. Days later, you are standing in your kitchen trying to remember whether you have enough energy to pour iced tea.

Recovery becomes deeply personal.

Over the next several days, I know what to expect. The fatigue will continue for a while. My chest will remain tight and sore as the sternum heals. I will probably have good days followed by unexpectedly difficult ones. That is normal after major cardiac surgery. Healing is rarely a straight line.

But there will also be progress.

In the coming days, walking will become easier. Breathing exercises will help my lungs continue recovering. The incision will gradually begin to itch instead of ache as the skin heals. My appetite should improve. Sleep will slowly return. The fear that naturally follows heart surgery will begin giving way to confidence.

Within the next few weeks, I should notice major improvements in strength and endurance. Cardiac rehab will continue helping rebuild both my heart and my stamina under careful supervision. The sternum itself will take several months to fully heal internally, but every week should bring more independence and more energy.

For now, though, recovery is about patience.

It is about listening to my body, respecting the healing process, and understanding that survival itself is already a victory. Every careful step through my home is a reminder that modern medicine, skilled surgeons, and determination carried me through one of the biggest battles of my life.

And now comes the equally important part: healing enough to truly live again.

Not sure if this is the right sub, but want to get some opinions on what I should do or who to reach out to.

My 64 year old father just got open heart surgery for an aortic valve repair this past friday, 5/8. He has been in the Cardiac ICU.

Last night, saturday, 5/9, my dads ICU day shift nurse forgot to give him his pain medication before shift change / before he went to bed. She also left his call button across the room and out of reach. This left him in pain until the night nurse came in 4 hours later to give him his next dosage. When the night nurse came in, that is when the mistake was caught and pointed out.

At that point, he was in excruciating pain and frightened. During this time, he still had his chest tube in and it has been causing shortness of breath. While waiting for a nurse to finally come in, my father was laying in bed facing an anxiety attack and thinking he was dying. His heart rate and blood pressure were high when the nigh nurse checked on him.

When I came in this morning, Im met with my dad looking exhausted and defeated. He explained what happened and how freaked out he was. I talked to yesterday's nurse and the charge nurse, and she admitted to forgetting to administer the pain medication.

I don't want to get anyone in trouble and I know this job is extremely stressful, but something just doesn't feel right. This already stressful weekend has managed to get worse. Now myself, my family, and most importantly my dad, has lost confidence in the hospital.

What is my best course of action from here? Do I call the nurses desk every few hours and ask for updates? I don't want to cause a scene or harass the nursing staff. Do I talk to a case manager? Do I leave it alone? I want my dad to have the safest recovery and to ease his anxiety.

I'm 19f. My dad used to smoke some years ago. Well apparently he has heart problems. Doctor advised him to not get in an airplane (travel) or do exercise. Because of this, he'll miss my older sisters weeding.

I'm worried. He's saying that we should prepare in case he died. He already has it definitive in his mind that he will.

He's not diabetic or anything.

Hi all,
New here. My dad (85) had planned cardiac surgery a week ago today. He had 5 blockages and they bypassed 3, so triple bypass.
He was in ICU 4 nights and was moved to a normal room.

He seems almost worse each day?

He was told that average hospital stay is 7-10 days, but now we are being told that he needs to go to a rehab before going home because he is too weak, has incontinence, and can barely walk. Needs assistance of two people.

I am very concerned. This was a planned surgery but also came as a bit of a shock. He was practically symptom free prior to the blockages being discovered as part of a hernia pre-op prep.

This is truly awful. For the weeks leading up to the surgery I was a ball of anxiety thinking he’d die on the table.
Now I am worried he will die in recovery.

This sucks.

Hospital chaplain came to talk to me and now I am taking that as some kind of horrible terrible omen.

My dad considered not doing the surgery. But he was told that he was a ticking time bomb. So he did the surgery and here we are.

He’s a retired surgeon by the way. So I cant imagine what he’s thinking or feeling right now. I love my dad. Life is going to suck without him and yes i know in terms of dad years, I got spoiled

Eight days after my aortic valve replacement for bicuspid aortic valve stenosis, I found myself doing something I never used to think much about before surgery: watching numbers.

Heart rate. Blood pressure. Resting pulse. Walking pulse.

After open-heart surgery, those numbers suddenly feel deeply personal because they are now part of the story of recovery.

This week, I discovered that my resting heart rate is around 79. When I walk, it averages about 98. At times, my heart rate moves into the 90s even while resting quietly. My blood pressure measured 118 over 61.

A week ago, Dr. Nishant Dinesh Patel stopped my heart, replaced a diseased aortic valve that had forced my heart to struggle for years, and then restarted it. Four hours in surgery changed the entire mechanics of how blood now flows through my body. It is remarkable to realize that only days later I am home, walking, recovering, and measuring the signs of a heart learning its new rhythm.

The truth is that recovery after open-heart surgery is both physical and psychological. Every unusual sensation immediately raises questions:
Is this normal?
Is something wrong?
Or is this simply healing?

In my case, the numbers are actually reassuring.

A blood pressure of 118/61 is excellent after major cardiac surgery. It suggests that the new valve is functioning well and that my circulation is stable. Many patients after valve replacement experience fluctuations in blood pressure during recovery, especially while medications are still being adjusted. Mine is in a very healthy range.

The elevated heart rate is also something doctors commonly expect during the first days and weeks after open-heart surgery. The body has just endured massive physical trauma. The heart itself has been operated on. The nervous system is still in recovery mode. Pain, inflammation, healing, medications, fluid shifts, anemia from surgery, poor sleep, and even the emotional stress of the experience can all temporarily raise heart rate.

In fact, many patients recovering from bypass or valve surgery report resting heart rates in the upper 70s, 80s, or even 90s during the early weeks after surgery before things gradually settle down over time.

Walking heart rates near 98 are also not surprising only eight days after surgery. Right now, my body is working harder during even light activity because healing itself demands energy. A short walk today is physiologically very different from a short walk before surgery. The chest is healing, the lungs are recovering, muscles are rebuilding strength, and the cardiovascular system is adapting to entirely new blood-flow dynamics.

What matters most is not simply the number itself, but the overall picture:

My blood pressure is stable.
My heart rate rises appropriately with walking.
I am able to move and recover.
The numbers are not dangerously high.
Most importantly, I continue improving day by day.

That does not mean recovery is effortless.

There are still moments of fatigue that arrive suddenly. My chest remains sore and tight. Sleep comes inconsistently. Sometimes I become hyperaware of every heartbeat because after heart surgery, it is impossible not to listen closely to your body.

But there is also gratitude.

Only days after surgeons reconstructed my heart and repaired years of damage caused by bicuspid aortic valve stenosis, I am home. I am walking. My circulation is stable. The numbers suggest healing rather than crisis.

Doctors still watch carefully for warning signs after valve surgery, especially severe shortness of breath, rapidly worsening heart rates, irregular rhythms, chest pain, fever, or dramatic blood pressure changes. But what I am experiencing right now appears far more consistent with a body recovering normally from one of the most serious operations modern medicine performs.

Recovery from open-heart surgery is not measured in hours or even days. It unfolds week by week. The heart rate that feels high today may gradually settle over the coming month as inflammation decreases and strength returns. The walks that now elevate my pulse will eventually feel easy again.

Right now, eight days after surgery, my heart is still healing.

And healing, I am learning, has a rhythm of its own.

M/23

Have anyone had this surgery and could tell me abit their expierence ? I was told today that they will perform it to me? I guess a mechanical heart and a graft? Not sure really. I am kinda scared and worried, not alot of info. Earlier there was talk about only the valve but now they decided that this is the best way. What should i expect?

is there ever a time when you stop filling the scar on your chest?