Preparing For Heart Valve Replacement? Heart Valve Repair? Avoid Stress. Know What To Expect. Enhance Recovery.
Understand The Patient's Perspective
The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery is filled with unique information, medical diagrams and pictures developed for both patients and their caregivers. After reading this book, you will know what to expect and, more importantly, how to manage those expectations.
As most patients will tell you, heart valve surgery can be similar to a roller coaster. There are ups and there are downs. The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery will help you celebrate the ups and manage the downs.
A sample of topics covered in this twenty-one chapter book include:
- Establishing a benchmark for recovery
- What happens during surgery
- About cardiac rehabilitation
- Waking up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)
- How to find the right surgeon for you
- Your vent and chest tubes
- The biggest pitfalls of cardiac surgery
- Learning the anatomy of your heart and heart valves
- Preparing your friends and family for your operation and recovery
- Managing your recovery
- Getting consensus from your cardiologists
- Dealing with insurance companies
- Keeping your recovery on track
- The second day in the hospital
- Pills, pills and more pills
- Understanding your diagnosis
- Understanding general anesthesia
- Your strange homecoming
- The costs of heart valve surgery
- Your surgical options
- Inside the pre-operating room
- State and federal medical aid
- That first 24 hours in the ICU
- Tips and tricks for being alone
- Dispelling the fear of heart valve surgery
Learn From 78 Former Valve Surgery Patients!
To better understand the realities of heart valve surgery, Adam Pick (the author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery), completed extensive interviews with 78 former cardiac surgery patients. In this one-of-a-kind survey, now published in The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery (Revised 2009 Edition), you get direct access to many first-hand, patient insights about heart valve surgery.
A sample of survey questions included in the book:
- Which hospitals provided an excellent, good or terrible patient experience?
- Who are highly recommended cardiothoracic surgeons?
- Did you experience any heart valve surgery complications following surgery?
- Did you get a second opinion from your cardiologist?
- Was cadiac rehabilitation part of your recovery?
- How many weeks did it take you to return to work?
- Did you experience cardiac depression?
- How many days were you in the hospital?
