Triple heart bypass

[JazzMiloPoppy]

My husband is 6 weeks post triple heart bypass pass. He continues to experience pain around his chest and he now has severe pain around the sternum. It doesn't seem to be improving. I'm looking for reassurance. Is it normal to experience severe pain 6 weeks post op. Thank you.

[DodgyTickerMum]

Hi, I had O.H.S a year ago in June. I experienced a lot of discomfort / sharp pains around my sternum for the first three months or so. Even now, it can still randomly feel sore if I’ve lifted something heavy or reached up to get something down from a high cupboard.

I would try and contact your Husband’s Cardiac Rehab Nurse or G.P for professional advice. (There are also the B.H.F Nurses on this site, who may be able to offer support). Has he had his 6 wk post op check yet? My lovely Nurse said to me at the time when I was struggling with it, that at around the 6 wk mark, the sternum starts to go ‘sticky’, before it starts to heal. All the nerve endings that were cut during the surgery have to rejoin - and this process can cause quite a lot of pain. I was sent home from hospital with 30mg Co-codamol. She suggested I take this to help if the pain was bad.

I hope you get it sorted and he starts to feel better soon.

[devonian186]

After my quad bypass I was in a lot of chest pain and took the max daily dose of paracetamol for 8 weeks when the pain suddenly stopped.

As he gets better is he trying to do too much?

[CyclingTime]

Contact the cardiac nurse but in general yes it's normal for the first few months and you will still get the odd twinge well past that.

Worth checking though as maybe your partner managed to loosen the sternum ties etc which can happen

[maggie80]

Hello, I had a quadruple bypass and a replacement heart valve, Nov'23. I haven't experieced pain. If I were you, I would phone the surgeon's secretary and let her know. Can't do any harm. Take care.

[Rubyzog]

Hi I had a triple bypass just over a year ago. It was quite a few weeks before my sternum pain got better. There is a lot of trauma to the nerve endings and this is what I think was causing the pain. I could tell from the pain that it was not internal ie my heart which was reassuring. Paracetamol regularly helped. Even now I occasionally get pain especially when coughing or sneezing. I guess it is something we will have to learn with. Hopefully the pain will get easier soon.

[cabgpatch]

I'm nearly 12 weeks post triple-bypass and haven't had much chest pain all the way through except for some short sharp episodes which I put down to internal movement whilst healing. I have had consistent nerve discomfort in my chest, especially when touched with clothing, which is gradually fading. The nerve damage initially even changed the way wind feels in my chest which felt very spikey and uncomfortable. As the cardiac rehab nurse said, the chest is covered with nerves and they will take time to regrow.

It may not be relevent, but it is so important not to overdo things in recovery, especially the early weeks. It is possible to do a lot of harm before the sternum is fused at 12 weeks. Sticking to the guidelines should make sure that your husband is OK.

As everybody says, every person has a different journey, but personally I would contact the nurse manager if your husband has one, the rehab nurses or the BHF nurses. They may be more available than the surgeon. There may be nothing to worry about, but at this stage, a little reassurance goes a long way. All the best for your future together.

[Billett]

I had by pass on Jan 17th 2024 i had pain for at least 10 weeks on which i took a strong painkiller at nights and paracetamol all day it is 7 months on i am back at work as a landscape gardener a d some times i have pain now but your sternum takes at least 12 weeks to heal mine felt lime i could feel the wires