Blog

Patients who have recently had thoracic surgery benefit greatly from having additional sternum support that a harness provides. Making simple adjustments in the way the Heart Hugger Sternum Support Harness is worn can make all the difference in patient comfort. Follow some of these simple guidelines to make your experience with this product more satisfactory.

Greater Support

If you do not seem to be getting enough support with your Sternum Support Harness, it may be because the Velcro on the handles needs to be tightened. Tighten the Velcro straps on both sides of the handles. Make adjustments in small increments, keeping the handles symmetrical and centered, and the same distance away from your sternum.

Positioning

• If your Heart Hugger is riding up under your arms, please adjust the suspender-like shoulder straps which controls the height of the chest strap. Loosen the straps equally to keep front handles even in front.

For most of our lives, physical activity has been like a cloudy sky. For some of us, the clouds are fresh and bright, and for others, the clouds are gray and stormy. Regardless of whether we live for the treadmill or constantly invent excuses to avoid the gym, exercise is a thought that always hangs over us, and its importance throughout our lives is undeniable. However, there are some points in life when physical activity becomes less a cloudy sky, to be looked up at and contemplated on, and more a hurdle that must be crossed as part of rehabilitation. After heart surgery, this is especially true.

When you consider the words "heart surgery," what is it that first comes to mind? For most of us, it's the beginning: preparing for surgery, the surgery itself, and the hospital stay. Of course, this is a big part of heart surgery. These first steps are important, and it's no wonder that these steps are the ones that most eagerly leap to mind when we think about heart surgery. But there is a second, equally important part--another set of steps--which comes after the heart surgery. What we must consider now is cardiac surgery rehabilitation.

No matter how young or old you are, surgery is a scary thing. If you're the friend, close relative or even nurse of someone about to go in for surgery, how do you comfort and reassure them? It isn't always obvious!

But It's Simple

We think of comforting words like "it'll be okay" as a bit useless. They're simply not. Put yourself in the place of your friend or relative. They're nervous, trying not to think about it, but still trying to prepare. They might like to hear encouraging words like:

When you think about what makes you you, what is it that first comes to mind? Is it your physical features, like the specific shade of your eyes that you've never seen mimicked anywhere else? Is it a special skill? Is it some complex combination of the books you've read, the songs you've heard, the people you've met, and the things you've done? Whatever comes to mind when you think about yourself as an individual, it's likely not the simple yet incredibly important act of breathing. Breathing is an important part of every life, yet it is often overlooked as an automatic and unnoticed detail--but after surgery, that can all change.

You want to be prepared for the six to eight-week process after heart surgery. If you are properly prepared you can help to speed up your cardiac surgery rehabilitation process. Below are five tips to help in your preparations.

1. Coordinate Your Helpers

You will need help after the surgery for simple to larger tasks. Compile a list of individuals who are willing to help you and try to secure two primary individuals to take care of most of your needs, as well as monitor the number of visitors who come to see you.

2. Prepare Your Body

Participating in certain exercise activities and receiving massage for a few weeks before surgery can help to prepare your body as well as decrease your needed recovery time.

3. Collect Your Comforts

Since you will not be able to lie in a bed right away, having a comfortable recliner is ideal. You also want to have a good amount of pillows ready for when you can sleep in bed again.

Each year millions of people around the world undergo some sort of heart surgery. The recovery period for these procedures is based on a number of things. They type of surgery itself will play a role in recovery. Along with this is the need to pay strict attention to doctor’s instructions. Your incision is a focal point in this process. Taking care of the incision point is very important. These are some of the steps for incision care:

• Clean and Dry Wound
• Use Only Soap and Water
• Maintain a Healthy Diet
• Protect Incision Site

Heart Hugger is a fine example of a support product for the sternum. This is a useful product that can help patients after their heart surgeries. It is strategic when it comes to protecting the incision site. Each of the steps for securing this site is a part of the recovery process. Let’s take a look at some other things to consider in this area.

Watch for Infection

There are many different options to choose from when thinking about postoperative recovery and sternal support. This is especially true when a complex procedure like open heart surgery is involved. You will want to know that you’re being placed in the best care possible and know that your recovery is on track to be as smooth as possible. After all, you’re trying to get back to normal the quickest way you can. There are a few different ways to go about postoperative chest support when recovering from heart surgery, the easiest and most beneficial way is to employ the help of the Heart Hugger.

With heart surgery each patient responds differently. However, there are side effects that are typical after this surgery, while there are side effects that aren’t so typical. It is extremely important that patients are aware of the differences between certain side effects that are expected, and ones that need immediate attention.

Normal side effects:

• Mood swings
• Loss of appetite
• Sleepless nights
• Muscle pain or tightness

Side effects that need immediate attention:

One of the unfortunate side effects of having heart surgery is the long and arduous recovery process that immediately follows the procedure. For some, this recovery process is easier than expected and health returns after a few weeks. For others, there are complications that are associated with recovery. One of these complications is known as sternal wound dehiscence, or the reopening of the sternal wound. Heart Hugger was invented, among other things, as a way to prevent sternal wound dehiscence and providing postoperative sternal support to patients recovering from heart surgery.