Heart bypass surgery experiences?

Did they catch it too late? I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for what's to come I guess.

I do my dad had two and I take care of them post op.
What do you want to know?

my wife works in surgery and they do these all the time. usually zero issues unless they are super old or sick

Ok awesome.

Thanks SS!

It's just scary bc my parents have never dealt with any major health issues. He's 64 this year.
He has diabetes too. Not severe though I don't think

My dad had triple bypass in 2001 and since then the recovery time has been shortened and it doesn't appear to as taxing on the body as it was when he had it.

My dad had double bypass at age 65 in 2014. He went in for a stress test and something was flagged, so he had a heart cath. They found a 90% blockage of his left main (the widow maker) and scheduled him for surgery the next day. We knew it was serious when the cardio surgeon cleared his schedule and told my mom "I'm going to give you time to think about it, but I'm scheduling his surgery tomorrow."

Just googling the actual procedure is pretty terrifying, but all went well. His surgery was performed at OLOL in the new cardiac area, and it was very nice, very clean (which for OLOL is really saying something).

He was most uncomfortable immediately post-surgery when they had several large diameter drain tubes in his chest cavity. It hurt to breathe. Once the tubes were removed his mood improved drastically.

Recovery is long and not easy. Be sure to offer support to your mom (or whoever will be his primary caregiver), because it is going to be incredibly stressful on her.

My dad's was part genetic and part his own fault. He quit smoking in the 90s, but never ate right nor exercised. Make your dad commit to the cardio rehab program and get healthy and he should do well.

We kept the "heart pillow" that they gave him to hold over his chest and he takes it everywhere he goes, kind of like a reminder that he doesn't want to do it again. Doctor said teach bypass was good for about 10 years.

Good luck, he'll do just fine.

On another note, you now need to go get all your cholesterol levels checked. First thing cardiologist told my brothers and I post surgery was to schedule cholesterol tests ASAP because now we have a family history. Low and behold, all of us (average healthy guys - we aren't iron men but we aren't slobs) had high cholesterol.

Surgery is usually successful. Recovery and prognosis vary depending on how much damage has already been done to his heart.

Good luck.

CABG (coronary artery bypass graft) is the definitive procedure when it comes to multiple diseases coronary vessels, angioplasty works well when conditions are right. If your fathers cardiologist said this is what he needs, he's probably right. Do some background on the cardiologist. If he's really well spoken for, do the CABG, if there's some concern, get a second opinion from a well respected cardiologist. The recovery is tough, you MUST get him out of bed and moving around after surgery, do not accept "I'm tired, it hurts" Remaining bed ridden is detrimental and potentially life threatening. Where are you considering doing the surgery?

He's being transferred to St Pats in Lake Charles.