After your surgery you will be taken to the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit
or CV-ICU. It is on the second floor of the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute,
right down the hall from the operating rooms. Here we have highly specialized
staff caring for you during the first stage of your recovery. Your surgeon and
anesthesia team will meet with the CV-ICU bedside staff members who will be
managing your care after surgery. They'll discuss in great detail your
individualized plan of care and status to ensure a safe handoff transition
occurs.
When most patients first arrived to the CV-ICU from surgery they are connected
to a ventilator with a breathing tube in place.
This machine breathes for you until you wake from anesthesia. The breathing tube
will be removed as soon as you are awake enough to safely breathe on your own. The
duration is different for every patient. To promote a safe recovery your CV-ICU
team will help return you to your natural breathing habits as soon as you
are medically ready. You will be monitored very closely while in the
CV-ICU. Several vital pieces of equipment that will be used for your care include
an IV pump, a monitor displaying vital signs such as heart rate and rhythm
oxygenation as well as heart pressures and function chest tubes for drainage,
temporary external pacemaker, a foley catheter which will be placed while you
are asleep and last but not least an incentive spirometer that you will be
asked to use to help expand your lungs.
Your loved ones are welcome to visit you anytime. Please use our foam hand
sanitizer upon entering the unit. Ring the bell to
enter the locked doors and check in with the secretary before making their way to
your personal room. Our expert staff will walk you through step by step on how to
recover safely and securely. Active participation is the best way to a
faster recovery and it is even more effective if your loved ones participate
as well. We strongly encourage it. Endurance, motivation and determination
cannot be emphasized enough. Some of the most important things during your
recovery are protecting your chest, sitting upright in a chair, expanding
your lungs with a breathing tool, as well as early and frequent walking. Most
common discomforts following surgery are fatigue pain and weakness. To help you
recover we will provide constant monitoring, pain
management and close collaboration with all team members. While we may not be
able to eliminate post-operative pain completely, we will treat your pain to a
level that will allow you to participate in activities which will speed up your
recovery. We attempt to minimize the need for opioid medications by using a
variety of non opioid pain medications, because opioids are known to cause
addiction and have many side effects which may delay your recovery. Once you
are medically stable, off of certain IV heart medications, breathing without
ventilator assistance and your routine labs are within appropriate limits, you
will be transferred across the hall to our specialty cardiovascular step-down
unit for the remainder of your hospitalization.
Each day on the step-down unit your care team will meet with you to discuss your
plan of care and answer any questions you have. This is called rounding. It is
an opportunity for everyone involved in your care to reconnect with you and your
loved ones. To ensure you are informed about your personalized plan this
meeting will include the lead surgeon, nurse practitioner or physician's
assistant assigned for the day, your bedside nurse, case manager and any other
members of your care team. We highly encourage you to participate and raise
any questions you may have regarding your recovery. Don't be surprised if you
no longer see the surgeon who performed your procedure. They work closely with
your post surgical team to coordinate your care and recovery. As you progress
the various tubes and wires will be removed to allow you to move more freely
and your medications will be adjusted as needed.
We offer peer support to patients and their families through the mended hearts
program volunteers. The most important thing you can do during your stay to
heal is being active. We realize you aren't ready yet to get on the treadmill
but you can improve your healing by sitting in a chair, walking and doing
breathing exercises. Our staff here on the step-down units are committed to
meeting your post-operative needs and preparing you and your family for
discharge. Therefore it is important to ask questions and take an active role in
your care. Your discharge plan will be personalized to your unique recovery
needs. In order to explain the plan and ease your transition back to home Inova
employs a patient care navigator. The patient care navigator is a nurse who
will guide you through what to do, what to expect and what to look out for once
at home. To ensure a clear understanding of how to take care of yourself at home,
detailed discharge instructions will be provided and reviewed with you prior to
leaving. In some cases if physical weakness prevents you from safely
returning home, acute rehab may be recommended on discharge by
your therapists. Otherwise you will be able to return to the comforts of your
own home. To check on you at home a nurse will call you within 24-hours to monitor
your progress. You will see the surgical team within one week of discharge. After
your recovery period, outpatients cardiac rehabilitation is prescribed and highly
recommended. It will help to increase your strength endurance flexibility and
balance. Each patient's hospitalization and experience varies depending on your
specific procedure, your overall health status entering surgery as well as how
your body reacts to and handles the surgery itself. Take comfort in knowing
that our team is prepared and highly trained to treat your unique
circumstances. Our dedicated teams of professionals are here to partner with
you every step of the way. We are committed here at Inova Heart and
Vascular Institute to provide you with the highest level of medical care and a
smooth transition home. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to care for
you. We are privileged to be your trusted care team.