 [ Symptoms ] what can i expect after heart surgery [ Disease ] every time i do rounds in the cardiac surgery recovery unit i am amazed room after room of people who just a few hours previously had their ribs split their heart exposed to the circulating air of the operating room and a human being is hands replacing a heart valve or sewing healthy grafts on diseased coronary arteries and there they lay with tubes drips and ventilators monitoring their every movement and supporting every breath even the ones who are awake are groggy and it is not surprising when they fall asleep while i am talking or drift off in the middle of a sentence this is heart surgery after all it is the medical equivalent of being hit by a truck it is a hard thing to grasp when you are signing a consent form but sometimes being hit by a truck is worth it every day thousands of people is hearts see more blood flow and oxygen from new blood vessels and valve replacement    or repair    fixes drafts and leaks and enables blood to travel where it needs to without being blocked by an obstruction while we are able to do a lot of things these days without surgery the or still plays a very important role in extending life and improving its quality one of the greatest concerns people have is post operative recovery while it is easier to quantify and estimate the risks related to surgery or any invasive procedure for that matter it is the time afterward that can be more difficult to predict for a day or two after surgery most people experience significant fatigue but typically this period is self limited and once the body really starts to heal the progression is miraculous patients stroll around the wards days after surgery with chest tubes catheters and invasive monitors just a memory from the intensive care unit we typically discharge cardiac surgery patients on post operative day five – it is a testament to just how resilient the human body can be but in all fairness the real recovery then begins at home we recommend that patients try to walk for twenty or thirty minutes each day to help regain strength as well as improve lung function after surgery it is not uncommon for people to feel fatigue for several weeks or even a month or two after surgery we arrange for a follow up visit with our cardiologists as well as the heart surgeon to touch base a few weeks after surgery examine the incision site to make sure that everything is healing well and to adjust any medications if necessary if you are going to have heart surgery you definitely have questions – here are a few to help frame the discussion with your surgeon and cardiologist * how many of these types of procedures have you done * how would you estimate my risk of a complication as compared to other patients * what type