Heart Bypass Operation - Aftercare

After a bypass operation you will typically be transferred to an intensive care unit for a 1-3 days stay so that your heart can be monitored continuously and to safeguard your overall health condition. A 10 to 14-day in-patient- stay follows.⁹

In the first days and weeks, pain in the chest or in the area of the incisions may occur. Just a few days after the operation, some patients notice previously prevalent feelings of tightness in the chest receding and energy slowly returning to their body.¹⁰ The dermal stitches are usually removed after about 1-2 weeks.
After you have returned home following a rest period or have been transferred to a recuperation facility, it is important to minimize the factors for vascular calcification in order to avoid renewed occurrences. This includes refraining from smoking, a diet low in cholesterol and fat, maintaining a normal weight, and avoiding stress and high blood pressure.¹¹

Smoking cessation after a bypass operation may add several years to your life.¹²

It is also important that you go about your daily activities slowly in the first weeks after the operation and allow your body frequent rest breaks. The sternum, for example, requires around 2 months healing.

You doctor will gladly clarify these and further individual aftercare measures such as taking necessary medications.