Around 900,000 heart surgeries are estimated to take place in the U.S. each year. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgeries are the most common, but they’re declining due to advancements in medicine. If your dad is having a CABG, it’s usually performed by stopping the heart temporarily and using machines to maintain the circulatory system until the surgery is completed.

Heart valve replacements are the second most common heart surgery. However, it’s also a surgery seeing a decline due to the development of less invasive procedures. One that is growing is the transcatheter mitral valve repair. It helps restore the proper function of the mitral valve.

No matter which surgery your dad has, he needs to listen to his cardiologist when he returns home. Post-hospital care is an important part of making sure your dad recovers well and avoids a trip back to the hospital.

Instructions for a Post-Surgery Recovery

At home, your dad’s surgeon and cardiologist will advise him to get up and get some exercise each day. The amount will have him starting slow and increasing as he regains his strength. He’ll be in comfortable, loose fitting clothing to avoid pressing on any incisions. Loungewear is a good start in the first week or two.

Make sure your dad doesn’t overexert. He needs to be active without exhausting himself. It may help him to work with a physical therapist to get into shape slowly and steadily.

He needs to be monitored for several warning signs as he recovers. They include dizziness, intense pain, breathlessness, and fatigue. Some pain is expected, but it shouldn’t be more than he can manage with prescribed medications or over-the-counter pain relievers.

With home health care nurses for post-hospital care, your dad has a trained nurse monitoring his pain levels, looking for signs of infection, and making sure he’s active without being too active. His nurse can help with wound care and medication administration if his pain isn’t being managed effectively with Advil or Tylenol.

Nurses know the signs of infection and will check the wound for redness, oozing, and unexpected bleeding. Eventually, if your dad needs his stitches removed, his nurse may be able to do it from home, unless the timing of the removal of stitches coincides with a post-surgical follow-up appointment.

Arranging Post-Hospital Care

For open-heart surgery, your dad may be in the hospital for four to ten days. He goes home after that, so you need to make sure post-hospital care is set up in advance. It can take him a few months to fully recover, and you need to ensure he has home health nurses to help with medications, wound care, and health assessments.

Arrange post-hospital care as soon as you can. Ideally, you want to address your dad’s care needs with his surgical team to make sure you’re not overlooking anything, but don’t stress too much. Your dad’s post-hospital care nurses will be in touch with his doctors, so it’s not just up to you to determine what he needs.

If you or an aging loved-one is considering Post-Hospital Care in Aventura, FL please contact the caring staff at Specialized Nursing Services today. (305) 652-2799

Sources:

How Many Cardiac Surgeries Are Performed Each Year? – New Study by iData Research