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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
Breathlessness after bypass operation
Answered by
Cleveland - OH
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Breathlessness after bypass operation
by liesbeth56, Jul 02, 2006 12:00AM
My husband had a quadruple bypass on the 12th January 2006. The day after the operaton he had a lot of fluid on his lungs whcih was removed. He has never been able to breath properly but when asked at the follow up appointment whether he was suffering from 'breathlessness' he said 'no' because he thought they meant panting. Over the months he has become more and more breathless and he spent 11 days in hospital where they diagnosed 'pulmonary embolism' put him on Warfarin and sent him home. They have promised a CT scan in about a month. He has lost about 10 kg in weight. When first home he was a bit better but he is now getting very breathless again. He is also losing his appetite again. What do we do? Our GP is on holiday.
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, Jul 02, 2006 12:00AM
, Jul 02, 2006 12:00AM
liesbeth,
Im sorry to hear of the rough course your husband has had. Open heart surgery is a big operation and it can take a serious toll on the body. There are a multitude of reasons why your husband might be breathless such as deconditiong, the pulmonary embolism, pleural and pericardial effusions and graft failure to name a few.
You really need to be evaluated in person. I would start with your GP or cardiologist and be specific of your complains and concerns. Sometimes a cardiac rehabilitation program is a marked benefit, but I would start with a medical evaluation to make sure something else inst going on.
good luck
Im sorry to hear of the rough course your husband has had. Open heart surgery is a big operation and it can take a serious toll on the body. There are a multitude of reasons why your husband might be breathless such as deconditiong, the pulmonary embolism, pleural and pericardial effusions and graft failure to name a few.
You really need to be evaluated in person. I would start with your GP or cardiologist and be specific of your complains and concerns. Sometimes a cardiac rehabilitation program is a marked benefit, but I would start with a medical evaluation to make sure something else inst going on.
good luck
He advised us to get an exercise bike, if my husband did not feel safe enough to use his bike in traffic.
Has anybody any experiencein how sensible this advice is?
Liesbeth
We could call an ambulance again and have him admitted to hospital but he is desperate to avoid that and I must admit he is not quite as bad as he was on the 12th June he was admitted to hospital.
We have however heard from the hospital that the CT scan is scheduled for 18th July, so that is an improvement on the 14th August at the earliest.