After heart bypass

[susieq87]

My mom is 5 weeks out after 4 bypasses at the same time.  She is 5 days into her fifth week.  Her husband is disabled and unable to walk around.  Care is being provided for him and I go over every evening and fix their supper, empty urinals for him, etc.  My mom is not doing any physcial therapy this week, she asked me to cancel it, the therapist comes twice a week.  I am very grateful she has made it thru the surgery, she is 79.  Something is wrong, she doesn't want to do anything.  Any suggestions..

[kenkeith]

It would not be unexpected to be depressed after the surgery, and it may be good idea to look for signs and symptoms.  Signs of depression include: excessive fatigue, sleeplessness, crying episodes, a significant increase or decrease in appetite, a loss of ambition or motivation, and in some, self destructive thoughts. For some, just recognizing there may be a cause and effect relationship is liberating enough to offer hope for eventual resolution without intervention. For others, especially if the symptoms worsen or show no sign of relenting after a few weeks, consultation with your doctor is definitely in order.

A US study published in Britain's The Lancet confirmed that many patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery are clinically depressed. Treating depression after surgery could substantially reduce the risk of death among these patients.

Depression is known to be a risk factor for future heart problems after bypass surgery. "Findings suggest specifically that depression one month after coronary bypass surgery is an important risk factor for continued cardiac problems, especially angina."

Therefore, the researchers suggest, long-term outcomes after coronary artery bypass surgery might be enhanced if patients were evaluated for depression one month after surgery and if needed depression treatment was provided.

[Encephalomalcia]

It takes a person about a year to fully recover and your mom being 79 may take her longer.  Warning signs are chest pain or shortness of breath when walking.  Sometimes the bypasses do not heal and they dissolve.  When this happens a balloon or stent is needed to open up the artery.  The symptoms of this are shortness of breath when walking.  This happened to my mom and it was her left main artery, very serious artery to have plugged.  She actually had two bypasses that dissolved and disappeared and she had a five bypass surgery (this was 12 years ago).