Consider for a moment the scientific miracle that is open-heart surgery: A team of doctors and nurses crack your chest open, reroute your blood through a machine that substitutes for your heart and lungs, and then literally stop your heart for long enough to fix what's broken in it. If all goes to plan, you're back at home and back on your feet in a matter of days.
Slicing into any of the body’s organs is serious business, and slicing into the heart is particularly fraught. Even as arteries are unclogged and faulty valves repaired, a cascade of reactions can be set in motion that may usher forth a string of grim effects: irregular heartbeats, memory loss and other cognitive deficits, internal bleeding, and—perhaps ironically—heart attacks and strokes. In October, health officials added another risk to that list—a rare but deadly bacterial infection that can stem from a device used to cool patients' blood during open-heart procedures.
It can be tempting to shrink in the face of such awesome power and risk, especially given that chances of suffering any one of these surgical side effects depends on a host of factors (like age, gender, and whether you suffer from certain medical conditions) that are well beyond your control.
But don’t despair. There are many simple steps you can take to minimize your risk and maximize your recovery. We consulted several medical experts on the most important ones.