After a triple heart bypass, I have been at home from the hospital two days and can only walk from one room to another or up a flight of stairs then I become out of breath, I am also coughing up phloem and hear a crackling sound in my breathing.
Is this normal?
You have had major interventional surgery and only very recently been discharged from hospital so it will be some time before you start to turn the corner. So you must be patient and listen to your body which may tell you you are overdoing things, and if that happens, wind it back. If you received instructions from your cardio team on discharge concerning do's and don'ts follow them. And be aware everyone has a different rate of recovery, from any sort of surgery, so you might be better, the same, or worse than the next person. But if you want a chat and or concerned about your symptoms try the BHF Heart Helpline nurse as below, or 111, or your cardio team if they have a helpline, which should be on your discharge notes.
bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...
And there are several posts on this site concerning triple heart bypass surgery recovery, so I suggest you search for them , but here's one for starters
healthunlocked.com/bhf/post...
I had a stent fitted two weeks ago. I am now in cardio excercise classes once a week. They make you work harder than I thought. The trick is to start slowly and build up. I was told to walk 15 mins a day and increase as I felt. I now do half hour a day. It does increase strength in walking but I am a bit wary of lifting stuff for awhile. Energy is not what it used to be yet so not sure how that will increase. I hate the medication but will ask about this when I get the chance. I am burping and noises at the other end. Most embarrassing. I believe it is the Statins I take 80 mg which I feel is too much being smaller.
Graham,
As Lowerfield says it is early days. I walked up Hedgehog Hill in the Cheviots a few days before my op, but when I got home after my op and went for a walk with my wife, all I could manage was half a mile and she had to go and fetch the car to transport me up the slope on our road. It was almost embarassing. However, slowly things improved and I was soon allowed out on my own, increasing distance and speed.
As for your crackly chest, water retention is common after a major op. I assume you may be on a diuretic which should sort it out, but if it persists seek medical help. I was put on Omeprazole after my op, but I am allergic to it. While they sorted me out, my oxygen fell to 73% which was most unpleasant. If you have an oximeter, it will give you an indication of how you are doing.
With my very wishes for your recovery,
Gerald
Hi Graham
As a fellow triple bypass patient, I would say that yes, that's not surprising. The thing to remember is that your lungs were collapsed during the op and will not be working at optimum efficiency for a while.
You should have been given breathing exercises to do, make sure you do them, they will help. You should also have been given a nebuliser at regular intervals whilst in hospital to expand your lungs.
All of this is to prevent the possibility of pneumonia. As has been said, you should now have a diuretic to take, probably just for one week, which should help shift any excess fluid.
It's going to take a while for you to get back to running up and down stairs 😉, so don't get discouraged. But you may have to manage your expectations. A triple bypass is a brutal thing to come through, how much were you told about your recovery? Were you given any written guidance to take home? It'll take some time, but recover you will. Ask as many questions as you need on here, people will be glad to help.
All the best.
Paul
Hi Graham,
As others have said it's a case of slowly building up your strength, you've had a major operation and recovery can be gradual.
For me I started walking up and down the lounge but without pushing myself too hard. After a while I was able to add on walking in the hallway. Eventually I was able to do laps around our decking, gradually increasing the amount I did. Finally I was able to start short walks outside, again gradually increasing.
I would strongly recommend joining a cardiac rehabilitation class, usually you start off in the hospital and then progress to a community group.
Some good advice on here already. It is early days so take it easy and things should get better. That said I had similar issues plus couldn’t sleep unless I was sitting up. Decided I needed to get checked and they found excess fluid around my lungs - had a pleural effusion a few days later where they drained 1.5 litres of fluid. From this point on my recovery got a lot better.
Jeez Graham… you’ve had your chest muscles cut , sternum split in half , your heart fiddled with, veins harvested , arms placed in tortuous position, filled with anaesthetic, stitched up and probably looking like a crimped pie , full of fluid .. takes a bit longer to rehab , obviously depending on any residual fitness and strength you may have and how the meds affect you. First job you s to recover from that huge surgery and chip away at that walking from one room to another and that flight of stairs. Hang in there. I had quadruple bypass surgery, I can empathise along with the others that have given you great advice above. Here’s to a fab and comfortable recovery buddy 👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻
Heart palpitations and out of breath
Short of breath.
Shortness of Breath
shortness of breath 
walking low dose of bisoprolol
