Quadrulple Bypass

[Stylin007]

My husband had a quadruple bypass a week ago...his heart was only working on 10% it is now at 36%...he also had to be shocked twice for a-fib..is this normal?
  thank you
Stacey

[Flycaster305]

I also had a-fib after surgery, and was told at least 30% of bypass patients require treatment to get the heart into proper rhythm.  In my case, a drug (Amiodarone) fixed the problem.  Although not associated with a-fib, my pacemaker needed a lot of fine-tuning after the procedure as well as my heart health improved enough for the need of new settings.  It sounds like the procedure was a huge success for your husband as well, that's an impressive percentage improvement.  As Ed34 mentioned, the heart went through a huge transition and needs both rest and exercise.  

[ed34]

Well, not normal, but certainly not unheard of. After bypass surgery they leave a wire temporarily hanging out of the chest, attached to the heart, in case there are rhythm problems. Heart surgery is very traumatic for the organ and it just needs a little while to recover. It's great that his heart has gone from 10-36% though, in just a week.