Who this leaflet is for

This leaflet is for anyone who is recovering from, or is about to undergo surgery to bypass (or ‘get around’) a narrowed coronary artery and improve the blood supply to the heart.

The technical term for your operation is a coronary artery bypass graft, which is how your surgeon and other health professionals who are helping you may refer to it.

This leaflet should be read in conjunction with any other information you have already been given about your procedure.

The following information is designed to help you to plan your recovery - such as when you should go back to work, drive a car again, and generally just get back to enjoying life the way you like it. Your surgeon, GP and other healthcare professionals will offer you a lot of very good advice - but ultimately it’s you that has to make the decisions.

The advice in this leaflet offers broad guidelines for people who do not have any complications with their surgery, or other specific medical circumstances, such as a long-term condition.

Obviously, every individual has different needs and recovers in different ways – so not all the advice in this leaflet will be suitable for everybody. When you’re weighing up how to make the decision that’s right for you, talk to your surgeon, your GP, or your Occupational Health service at work, if you have one. They will all help you to make the right choices for a safe and speedy recovery.