Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) Post-Surgery Care: Cardiovascular Rehabilitation Preventive Cardiology (CVR & PC) Programme, physical activity, wound care, infection, emotions and cognition

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) - Post-surgery care

Recovering from heart surgery

Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) aims to return patients to gainful employment, or active retirement with a restored sense of well-being. Generally, most people will see improvements in their symptoms such as chest pain and breathlessness after CABG. However, you should adopt positive lifestyle changes to sustain these improvements. You must comply with your prescribed medication, stop smoking, control your weight and adhere to a diet low in salt, fat and cholesterol.

Patients recovering from heart surgeries such as CABG should take note of the following for quicker recovery:

1) Engage in light physical activity

You can start with light activities such as doing chores and taking strolls. This can be beneficial to patients who face difficulties with sleeping after the surgery. However, within the first two months, you should avoid:

Lifting, pushing or pulling heavy objects (depending on your level of fitness)
Driving a car

If it is possible, patients going back to work should start with reduced working hours and workloads before gradually increasing these back to normal. This prevents excessive strain on the body.

2) Care for your wound(s)

Keep the wounds and the surrounding areas dry. Clean the wound using soap and warm water only. Please visit your doctor immediately if you notice any signs of infection such as:

Pus
Fever more than 38º C
Tenderness and redness around the wound
Opening up of the wound

3) Take note of cognitive and emotional changes

Patients might experience slight decreases in their cognitive functions though this is usually temporary. To cope with this, patients should avoid any stressful or mentally taxing tasks within the first few weeks of surgery.

Some patients might also experience an onset of low moods or even depression after the surgery. However, patients’ moods should generally improve over the period of recovery. Patients could also speak with their family and friends to cope with these emotions.

Cardiovascular Rehabilitation & Preventive Cardiology (CVR & PC) Programme

You are encouraged to attend the Cardiovascular Rehabilitation & Preventive Cardiology Programme that will enable, encourage and assist you on the road to recovery.

Cardiovascular rehabilitation is a process to enable, encourage and assist you to make the transition from a state of illness back to a state of health and normal function. It is a lifelong process and begins from the time of diagnosis. The four basic features of the programme are behavioural counselling, aggressive risk factor modification, health education and exercise training.

Various members of the health team will be available to teach, guide and encourage you. The team comprises of physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, psychiatrist, dietitians and pharmacists. But the effort to achieve the goal of optimal rehabilitation depends solely on you.