Open-heart surgery generally means an operation in which the heart-lung machine is used to support the patient’s circulation while the surgeon opens the chest and makes changes to the heart or the arteries on the surface of the heart. This surgery is one of the most commonly performed operations in the United States, with a high overall survival rate. There are a variety of types of open-heart surgeries, depending on the condition being treated and the overall health of the patient.

In general, patients undergoing open-heart surgery can expect a hospital stay of at least three to four days after the surgery. They will not be allowed to smoke for two weeks before the procedure, or to eat or drink for eight hours beforehand. They will usually be admitted on the morning of the procedure. The procedure itself takes an average of about five hours. Afterward, the patient will be very carefully monitored, first in the cardiac intensive care unit and then on the general floor. Most open-heart surgeries will not need to be repeated.