The period after heart surgery is important for every patient. The healing period looks different for every patient and for each surgery type, but there are a few things that you can expect during this time.
If you’re looking at information related to heart surgery and recovery, chances are you’ve heard about heart pillows (also known as chest or cough pillows).
Heart surgery can have a long and arduous recovery process that immediately follows the procedure. For some, this recovery process is easier than expected and their health returns after a few weeks. For others, there are complications that are associated with recovery. One of these complications is known as sternal wound dehiscence, or the reopening of the sternal wound.
There usually tends to be a lot of anxiety around the idea of open heart surgery, and typically that is because patients such as yourself aren't sure of what to expect. We wanted to put your nerves at rest as much as we can, so we're going to ease your mind by giving you a glimpse of what your day could look like when you go in for open heart surgery.
Surgery can be a scary thing. If you're the friend, close relative or even nurse of someone about to go in for surgery, how do you comfort and reassure them?
There are a lot of components to consider when it comes to healing after open heart surgery, but one of the most important components is the treatment of the sternum. In truth, the sternum is actually a broken bone at the beginning of the healing process. But is it treated as such? Are there extra considerations? Here's a closer look.
Everyone goes through cycles of health, but certain symptoms point to larger problems. If you recently discovered that you or a loved one is at risk of having or has coronary artery disease, you likely walked out of the doctor’s office with a lot of mixed feelings and confusion. What is coronary artery disease? How could it affect you or your loved one going forward? What needs to change in your life or the life of your loved one to minimize the risks?
The patients who undergo heart surgery are susceptible to a host of complications that can set in during their stay in the hospital. When any of these happen, it can cause enormous problems for the hospital. To keep that from happening, there are a few steps you can take for patients and hospital safety.
The care that you provide to patients goes a long way toward their recovery. Healing isn't just a physical tasks- it's also one that is guided by our emotions and stress levels.
Heart surgery recovery is not something that happens overnight. It's a process--which means that there are many things your patients need to do (and some things they're not supposed to do). Since all of that information can get a little overwhelming, we've compiled a few quick tips to help your patients remember how to keep their recovery on track.