Breathing difficulties following quad bypass

Question

It is now almost 6 months since I have a quadruple bybass and if I exert myself such a working in the garden or walking up a steep hill I experience bad shortage of breath and have to sit down to recover is this a common thing and can it be treated???

ed34 · Accepted Answer

After 6 months, this doesn't sound normal. It can happen early on after bypass surgery where the arteries become inflamed where the grafts are done, but this usually subsides. I would make an appointment with your cardiologist and have some tests. Did you notice any benefits after the surgery?

skydnsr · Answer

One possible explanation is a paralyzed hemidiaphragm.  Sometimes the phrenic nerve can get damaged during open-heart surgery (OHS).  This causes one half of the diaphragm to be paralyzed, which in turn causes shortness of breath on exertion.  It happens in a small percentage of cases of OHS.  It is more likely to happen if the surgery is long, because it is the cold solution that they put in your chest cavity that does it.  Long exposure to that cold solution can damage the phrenic nerve.  It usually is the left phrenic nerve and the left side of the diaphragm that is affected.  

It can be pretty easy to see evidence of a paralyzed left hemidiaphragm on a simple chest x-ray.  Normally, the right side (your right, which is on the left side of the picture) of your diaphragm is a little higher than the other, to make room for the liver.  If the left hemidiaphragm is paralyzed, the left side of the diaphragm will be higher than the right side, due to a lack of muscle tone.  

This happened to me in my second OHS.  Obviously, I'm not saying that it's what happened to you, but a paralyzed hemidiaphragm is a possibility that can be checked out.  Undoubtedly, you've had chest x-rays since your surgery, so those can be looked at.  I think I may have read that it happens in, like, 6% of all open-heart surgeries.  Or maybe it was more like 3%; I can't remember.  The incidence rate can be looked up on the internet, if you're interested.  If it should turn out that this is what happened to you, then post back, and I can give other details.  Good luck.

ed34 · Answer

Hi, please keep us informed. Being more short of breath than before the surgery is not normal. I had a triple bypass in 2007 and mine failed after 3 months. I met patients who had their bypass's collapse after weeks. It is very usual that a problem can be rectified using stents.

Roket70 · Answer

I think I will have to go and see him, no I was ok before the surgury and playing golf right up to going into hospital they got to me before I ran into trouble thanks for your help