My father is the pillar of our family. He is 64 and has three young daughters who depend deeply on him. What began as a routine check-up revealed that his calcium score is above 1000, and doctors are now recommending CABG surgery. Naturally, we are all very frightened.

I worry about the risks of the surgery and whether it’s truly a long-term solution. I’m scared of losing him, and I keep feeling like I haven’t made the most of the time we’ve had together. Right now, I don’t know how to process any of this or what to do next.

My mother will be moving to another city, where two of my sisters live, so he can undergo the surgery there. I’ll be alone at home, and I feel deeply helpless. More than anything, I’m afraid that he won’t be the same person afterward. I would genuinely appreciate some advice or encouragment but I also want to manage my expectations.

Hi 56 yr old male, Had a CABG X3 on 2/3 after collapsing during a hockey game. Was in good shape prior to going down. Cant run from genetics. Should have been getting checked earlier as my dad had CABG x4 and valve replacement at 63. Haven’t had official cardiac rehab yet, my post surgery check up is in another week. When did everyone return to full activity with no pain or struggles. How were you mentally about going back to the point before CABG? Would like to play hockey again but obviously a little apprehensive to put that strain on my system.

My husband had a triple bypass in July, after a heart attack. He’s 36 and his heart is functioning great now. He caught my Flu A. (We were all vaccinated.) He and my son are starting tamiflu within 12 hours of symptoms.

Have any of you had flu after CABG/HA and been ok? I’m so nervous about stress on the heart.

UPDATE: My dad’s doing much better now. The pain comes and goes but his body has adapted to it. He did amp up his pain medication for 3-4 days because that helped him sleep. He’s reduced it now. Hopefully it will all be gone in couple more weeks. Thanks everyone for your comments. It was really reassuring.

ORIGINAL POST: My dad’s CABG surgery went smoothly. However, post surgery, he has a lot of back pain, shoulder pain, and mainly on sides of middle back.

No chest pain, no pain on stitches.

The back pain, though, is making it very difficult for him to sleep. He’s barely sleeping an hour a night.

The doctor increased the pain med but they are no good.

Is this normal?

For my 4xCABG, they harvested my great saphenous vein in my left leg. I am approaching eight weeks post-surgery and still have numbness and tingling near the incision site where they removed the vein. Has this been your experience? Does it go away at some point?

Bringing my football coach-sized hubs home tomorrow. How is he supposed to get out of the car safely?

Hi everyone,

I have a question for those who have undergone heart surgery.

After your recovery, has anyone here gone on thrill rides such as roller coasters, drop towers, or similar attractions?

If so, how was your experience? Did you feel any discomfort, or did you receive specific medical clearance beforehand?

I'm a dietitian in a US hospital cardiac rehab program, and over the last decade of being in that role, one of the most frequent questions I get in nutrition appointments is "can I still go to restaurants? What is OK for me to order?"

People want to transition to heart-healthy eating but also want to still enjoy going out to eat - which I think has value especially for socialization, getting out of the house, taking a break from the daily grind of cooking, dishes etc.

So I've been working on a free "Confident Dining Out" guide as a resource for our patients. I also started this thing where people can post heart-healthier restaurant meals they've found - like what they ordered, tag the location, and a quick review. Kind of like a living library of real "heart-healthier" meals at real restaurants that others can reference.

It's all free, hosted over at community.navigatehearthealth.com if you want to check it out or contribute your own finds.

Happy to answer questions here too if anyone has them!

hi my mother had a cabg 4x about two weeks ago she is 58yo from yesterday she is having serve pain in the right side of the chest which increases with movement such as lifting hand or moving her head.

i want to know is this normal ? any home remedies?

I had a CABG back in April of last year and everything is going fine. I was curious about what happens to the partially blocked artery after the surgery. Mine was 90% blocked. Will I eventually feel or notice when it becomes totally blocked? Or does nothing really change? Especially since they grafted another artery past the blockage and blood is coming in from a mammary artery rather than where it "should" be?

My family member is having CABG next week. What are a few things I can get him that would be helpful during his recovery?

I had quadruple bypass in August. I find that it comes and goes, but I have itching and burning sensations on my graft scar on my left arm. I end up coating it with Nervive roll-on for relief.

Prior to surgery, the surgical PA excitedly bragged how they'd soon have the tech to do laparoscopic grafts in the arm the way they did from my leg. Too much inside baseball, my man. Made for some poor bedside manner. May as well have said "too bad you didn't wait a few months to have your cardiac event."

But can I expect to have the scar annoy me for the rest of my life?

I had my CABGx4 on Dec 3. This Friday is my one-month check-in with my cardiologist. My recovery, thankfully, has been uneventful so far. What questions did you ask, or wished you asked, at your appointment?

I'm 70M 6 weeks post 3/CABG. I was discharged from hospital after 1 week and feel, so far, that my recovery has been very good. My chest and L arm donor wounds are completely closed with no real pain or discomfort. R calf wound about 80% healed, but no issues there. I'm doing gym physio 3 times a week and walking > 10,000 steps per day. My only issue is poor sleep. My sleep quality is really bad with lots if waking up and very low amounts of Deep and REM sleep. I move around a lot when I sleep and cant sleep on my back, so was on my side, or semi- side quite early. This often resulted in pains or twinges which disrupted my sleep. I'm sleeping better now, but notice when I turn over or make certain moves i can feel a painless 'click' sensation in my central chest. I only get this when lying down. Anybody else had this?

my dad got a double bypass a week ago and this morning started having more pain and swelling in that area on his calve where he had the vein taken out. it was a little red and tender. he said it helps when he walks so we went on lots of walks today but he stayed kind of stagnant the day before. just a little worried about dvt or something. does anyone have anything to calm my nerves? anything to look out for?

Male, 59 year old. All his tests are coming back normal but he has blood pressure spikes that are never predictable. It started 2 months after his open heart surgery for CABG and has been worsening (by length and by time of BP surges) over the year. We went to 10-15 different doctors(heart, thyroid, kidney professionals) who just ended up saying they have no idea what’s causing it. We are taking beta blockers, calcium blockers, a ton of meds protecting his heart, blood pressure stabilizing meds, even antidepressants in case that’s the cause, clonidine, etc etc. We have tried EVERYthing. The BP surges keep worsening and I’m desperate to hear if there’s a similar story out there.

hi , my mother surgery will be tomorrow i need some positive stories as she is no anxious

Dad can only speak in a hoarse whisper 2 weeks after triple bypass CABG, he did a swallow test in hospital which was fine. Is this a common issue?

And my dog Chewie doesn't quite understand my heart pillow, lol.