Discharge education class
We recommend that you and your caregiver(s) attend one of our discharge classes to help you prepare for your transition home. Discharge classes are scheduled every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the patient lounge on our cardiac inpatient unit, D-Wing, third floor (D3).
Medication
Changes will be made to your medications after your surgery. New medications may be added for long-term heart protection, and you may be prescribed some temporary medications to help with pain or constipation after surgery. Some of your previous medication such as blood pressure medications, diabetes medications, or blood thinners may be adjusted or discontinued.
A new prescription will be given to you on the day that you are discharged – this prescription will be a complete list of all the medications you are to take when you go home. Consider filling your discharge prescription before leaving the hospital to avoid missing any medications.
Our pharmacy is located in M1101 – M-wing, first floor – at our main entrance.
On the day of your discharge
Typically, a patient will stay four days in hospital after coronary artery bypass surgery.
Some patients may have a longer stay in hospital. While this is rare, it may happen. Your health-care team will keep you informed about the predicted amount of time you may be on D3, or the ICU. If you have questions about the potential for a long stay in hospital after your CABG, please talk to your CABG team.
Before being discharged, please arrange for someone to drive you home on the day of your discharge from the hospital. The planned discharge time is 11 a.m. (unless you’re told otherwise). There may be times when we need your bed for an incoming patient. On the day of discharge, when you are ready, you will wait in our patient lounge for your driver to pick you up.
When you are ready to leave, your driver can park in the driveway in front of the hospital. They should tell the security guard at the front desk that they’re here to take you home. Parking is only allowed for a few minutes in this area. If your travel time is greater than two hours, you should plan on frequent stops to get out of the car and stretch your legs.
Cardiac rehabilitation program
There are outpatient cardiac rehabilitation programs across Ontario that are designed for people who are recovering from heart attacks, heart surgery or who are living with various heart and circulation conditions. Six weeks after your surgery, we recommend you participate in an outpatient cardiac rehabilitation program close to home. Your physiotherapist will recommend and refer you to an appropriate program.
Getting back to daily activities
During the recovery period, your body sees any activity as work. It is normal to feel more tired than usual. The goal is progressive activity – doing a little more each day. It takes six weeks for your breastbone to heal from your surgery, so certain activities should be avoided during that time. Do not lift items greater than 2.3 kilograms (5 pounds) for six weeks, for example: laundry baskets, groceries, pets, children or infants.
Follow the home exercise program and progress tracker available in your Coronary Artery Bypass guide
Follow-up appointments
You will need to contact your doctors’ offices for follow-up appointments.
Family Doctor: Call your family doctor to schedule your follow-up appointment for one week after your discharge.
Cardiologist: Call your cardiologist to schedule an appointment for four weeks after your discharge.
Surgeon: Call your surgeon to schedule your follow-up appointment at their discretion. Typically, follow-up appointments with surgeons occur six to twelve weeks after discharge.
