Many patients and families worry about a difficult recovery process when heart surgery has been recommended. However, new protocols are taking the field by storm resulting in less pain, fewer complications, and faster recovery than ever seen before.
Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery
ERAS Cardiac stands for Enhanced Recovery After Cardiac Surgery. ERAS is an innovative multidisciplinary process designed to help patients move through all the phases of their cardiac surgical correction with better function and less risk. This process has not previously been systematically applied for heart surgery patients.
What exactly does ERAS Cardiac do?
ERAS Cardiac applies many small positive evidence-based interventions to a patient’s recovery from heart surgery. This includes things such as:
- Early walking
- Improved bowel function
- Less need for pain medications
Each of these small components adds up to a major gain, allowing the patient to return home sooner to friends and family, back to work, to school, to church, to exercise, back to normal and healthier life!
Where can I learn more about enhanced recovery for heart patients?
The webpage www.erascardiac.org is a great resource with details on latest protocols, centers of excellence, and ongoing research in this exciting area!
About Judson Williams, MD, MHS
Dr. Judson Williams is a board-certified cardiovascular surgeon who specializes in treating patients with heart valve disease or structural heart disease, aortic aneurysms, and coronary heart disease. Dr. Williams is a national expert in enhanced recovery.
Request an appointment with Dr. Williams today.
