Once an open-heart procedure is completed, the incision is closed and the heart is restarted. When the surgical team is satisfied that the heart is beating strongly again, the heart-lung machine is disconnected. The chest incisions are then closed (sutured).

After surgery, the patient is moved to a hospital bed in the cardiac surgical intensive care unit. Heart rate and blood pressure monitoring devices continuously monitor the patient for 12 to 24 hours. Family will be able to visit periodically. Medications that regulate circulation and blood pressure may be administered through an I.V. (intravenously). A breathing tube (endotracheal tube) will remain in place until the physicians are confident that the patient is awake and ready to breathe comfortably on his or her own. The patient may be groggy and somewhat disoriented, and sites of incisions in the chest (and the leg, if this was a bypass operation) may be sore. Medicine to relieve pain will be given as needed.

Patients usually stay in the hospital for four days to a week or longer. During this time, more tests will be conducted to assess and monitor the patient’s condition. The heart surgeon and cardiologist will discuss further medical treatment, including the use of pain medications or possibly anticoagulants. He or she will also update any medications that the patient had already been taking.

After release from the hospital, patients may have experiences such as:

Many of these usually disappear over the course of four to six weeks. When patients are ready, physicians may place them in a physician-supervised strength building cardiac rehabilitation program.