Heart Attack after Quad By-Pass

My step-father just week through by-pass surgery and stayed in the hospital for 12 days. He went home on a Friday and had another heart attack the day after his release and passed away before the emergency service could arrive. Is this typical? Could this be caused from improper taking of his medications? What is the likely cause?

[Yvette BG]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

From what I understand, the average length of stay in the hospital stay after bypass  varies from country to country and if in the US, to some extent from region to region. Both my parents (Dad just under 82 and Mom just under 80 at the time) had bypass in the Midwest and we were told to expect a 4-7 day hospital stay, if I remember correctly. My Dad ended up staying longer due to some problems with his kidneys; he has diabetes and he's had long-time problems controlling his blood sugar and had some kidney changes before his surgery. The doctors said the surgery was hard on his kidneys; plus, he had his aortic valve replaced at the same time and even the doctors felt he waited a bit too long before having that taken care of. (He was in congestive heart failure at the time of the surgery.) With your stepfather, did he have any problems after the surgery that they kept him in the hospital for 12 days? (At least for around here, 12 days is a long time in the hospital unless there's a problem of some sort.)

My Mom had to be readmitted to the hospital about a month after her bypass because of an arrhythmia. She had chest pains and apparently developed atrial fibrillation and some other irregularities, same as what happened a few days after the surgery while she was still in the hospital and delayed her being discharged to the rehab facility (for strengthening, etc.) We learned from her doctors that arrhythmias are not uncommon days and even weeks after bypass surgery; sadly, some can be life-threatening. I wonder if it's possible that an arrhythmia contributed to your step-father's death.  

[ed34]

There is no guarantee how long a bypass will last. It is likely the bypass vessels didn't hold up to the job and collapsed. I had a triple bypass and it lasted 3 months but surgeons told me it would last the rest of my natural life. They have no idea why the vessels collapsed, it just happens in some people. When blood vessels are grafted to the coronary arteries, you get inflammation which is worse in some people than others. two patients in my ward had to stay longer because they believed inflammation was restricting their blood flow to heart tissue and they wanted further monitoring. Maybe this was what happened with your step father and they felt they could trust his release with the right medication. I can say from experience though that when a bypass collapses, it's not a gradual thing. One minute I was just fine, the next I was on the floor. I was one of the lucky ones, I survived.
I am so sorry to hear of your loss and I know it causes many questions through disbelief. I had the same thing when my mother passed away in hospital.

[wgang]

When I had my Quad,you were to be dismissed in three days.I was seven days.Other
men were out in three days,one with five and the other with six.The others mainly had
triple by-passes.
  Wgang