Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Contributions by ColleenO

Possible Complications

If you are planning to have a CABG, your doctor will review a list of possible complications, which may include:

• Infections
• Blood clots
• High or low blood pressure
• Bleeding
• Stroke
• Damage to other organs, such as the kidneys
• Irregular heart rate
• Death

Some factors that may increase the risk of complications include:

• Lung disease, especially chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( emphysema )
• Prior heart attack or bypass surgery
• Advanced age
• Surgical urgency
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• High blood pressure
• Thyroid disease

Call Your Doctor

After you leave the hospital, contact your doctor if any of the following occurs:

• Pain that you cannot control with the medicines you have been given
• Signs of infection, including fever and chills
• Redness, swelling, increasing pain, excessive bleeding, or discharge at the incision sites
• Nausea and/or vomiting that you cannot control with the medicines you were given after surgery, or which persist for more than two days after discharge from the hospital
• Cough, shortness of breath, or chest pain
• Pain, burning, urgency, frequency of urination, or persistent bleeding in the urine
• Gaining more than four pounds within one or two days
• Pain and/or swelling in your feet, calves, or legs, or sudden shortness of breath or chest pain

In case of an emergency, call 911.