Preparing for heart surgery involves going through a lot of steps, including understanding your diagnosis, procedures, medications, and recovery timeline, but what gets overlooked is mental prep. Starting a new chapter in life is daunting, regardless of if operation is life saving. Patients may feel vulnerable and not have clarity regarding the path ahead. Mental prep for heart surgery Los Angeles patients is one of the most important, if not the most important, parts of the process. It’s important to find support to help alleviate anxiety and process the emotional and psychological side of it. Dr. Maria Tehrani and her staff at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood understand that to help a cardiac patient, part of the focus has to be on the mental aspect.

Heart Surgery News is Emotional

Finding out you need heart surgery changes your life. If heart surgery is needed after years of managing a chronic illness, or if it is a needed after a sudden heart attack, it understandably has a huge emotional impact.

Before cardiac surgery, patients feel a complex of emotions:

– Fear and anxiety: about the surgery, the anesthesiologist, and concerns about possible complications

– Sadness or depression: over losing physical capacity or the ability to live independently

– Denial: a tendency to downplay the seriousness of the situation

– Anger, frustration due to the diagnosis and the changes it will make to everyday life

– Guilt is a common feeling in patients that believe their lifestyle choices led to their illness

– Helplessness due to losing control about what life will look like after surgery

Several studies show that patients with higher anxiety and depression before heart surgery will have a harder time on the road to recovery. This is why it is extremely important to address mental health before surgery. It brings about emotional stability, and can have a huge impact on the outcome of the surgery and recovery.

Preoperative Mental Health Preparation Prior to Cardiac Surgery

The relationship between the mind and heart are interlinked throughout the body and extensive literature has documented links between chronic stress, anxiety, and depression and the measurable effects of the cardiovascular system, the immune system, and the body’s healing mechanisms. For patients in Los Angeles, Los Angeles patients have to psychologically prepare for the surgery days and weeks prior to the surgical procedure.

This is why emotional preparation is vital.

Surgical success is dependent on psychological stability. Patients who are psychologically stable report less pain and distress and have a quicker recovery.

Psychological stability drives adherence to surgical preparation activities. Pre-operative guidelines are necessary in order to ensure surgical success. Guidelines include fasting, and stopping certain medications prior to the procedure. Psychologically stable patients find remaining compliant to the guidelines easier. Patients who are psychologically distressed find adherence to the guidelines next to impossible.

It promotes a healthy immune system. Psychological stress weakens immune system function. When preparing for surgery, the last thing a patient should be worrying about is a weak immune system. Stress management is essential. Keeping a clean, positive mindset is the best approach for immune system function.

It creates a positive mindset for faster healing. The emotional perspective going into surgery is typically the perspective coming out of surgery. Patients who are able to approach surgery with a positive mindset, typically find the healing process less stressful.

Common Mental Health Challenges for Patients in Los Angeles

A patient diagnosed with heart surgery living in Los Angeles is in a mentally and emotionally taxing situation. The symptoms and stress of heart surgery can be made worse due to the stress of living in a fast paced city with heavy traffic, a demanding work culture, financial stress, and the expectation to be social.

Los Angeles patients often face several unique challenges:

Work and career pressure. Residents of Los Angeles often run their own businesses, work in highly competitive positions, or have jobs with high demands making it hard to take time off, even for health-related issues. Losing an income, losing clients, or losing their competitive status in a profession can add extra stress on top of a very serious health-related issue.

Family and caregiving responsibilities. Many families in Los Angeles will have several generations living in the same house. Often, one person in the house ends up doing most of the caregiving. When patients are caregivers for children or an elderly family member, it can create a lot of anxiety to step back from those responsibilities while they are recovering.

Distance from support networks. Many people living in Los Angeles have moved there from other states or other countries. Patients often feel very distant from family and friends to provide support, which can add to the feeling of isolation when facing a serious heart surgery.

Financial concerns. Los Angeles has one of the highest living costs in the country. Many patients face concerns about financially managing heart surgery, especially regarding time off work, medical costs, rehabilitation expenses, and worries about time off work.

Recognizing difficult aspects of care is the first step to addressing them. Dr. Tehrani and the multidisciplinary care team at UCLA Medical Center know that patients carry the entirety of their life circumstances into the hospital, and compassionate care is about acknowledging and addressing that.

Steps for Your Emotional Preparation for Heart Surgery in Los Angeles

Before and after Heart Surgery, patients in Los Angeles can take specific practical and research-oriented strategies to improve emotional resilience. Some of the most effective strategies are:

1. Consult a Mental Health Expert

If you are feeling anxiety, depression and fear before your procedure, seeing a therapist (especially a health psychologist) can be very useful. There are many therapists in Los Angeles who assist patients in dealing with severe illnesses and surgical operations. In particular, cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, has a lot of positive evidence concerning anxiety before surgery.

Request your cardiac physician or the UCLA Medical Center’s cardiac care team to recommend a mental health professional who has experience with cardiac patients. This is an encouraged practice in cardiac care and is quite common.

2. Knowledge is Power.

In most cases, pre-surgical nervousness is attributed to fear of the unknown. Understanding the ins and outs of the process, and anticipating the demands of the recovery can give the patient more control.

When dealing with fear, explain what is to be expected during surgery, the recovery process, and control the narrative. Ask as many questions as you wish with Dr. Tehrani and her team. A good cardiac surgeon appreciates and encourages questions. Make a list of questions to be asked during the appointment.

3. Have a Helping Hand

Always select people you can trust with your ordeal to offer emotional support, as well as practical support, and direct assistance during and after the surgery. This can involve a spouse, close friends, family, and members of a faith-based community. Tell them what you are going through and give them the specific tasks of assisting.

If your support network in Los Angeles is limited, think about reaching out to a cardiac support group. Cardiac patient support groups, including UCLA Medical Center, provide a safe space where patients and their families can connect with others and share their lived experiences in a group setting.

4. Do Activities That Help Reduce Stress

Doing daily activities that help reduce stress can help improve your emotional state in the weeks leading to your surgery. Examples that have research to support their effectiveness include the following for patients who have heart issues:
Mindfulness meditation. Research shows that meditation for 10 to 15 minutes each day can help reduce both anxiety and blood pressure.
Breathing exercises. Calm and deep breathing can help reduce stress by activating the calm side of your nervous system.
Gentle yoga or stretches. This is only if your heart doctor approves it for your condition.
Journaling. Writing down your fears, hopes, and feelings can help give you an outlet and help you to process what you are dealing with.
Spending time in nature. Nature can also help calm anxiety. Los Angeles has plenty of options to get to calm your mind such as parks and the beach.

5. Don’t Look at Negative Information Too Much

Researching your condition and reading about what others have gone through can be helpful and empowering. However, in most cases, it actually causes a higher level of anxiety. This is especially the case when you find stories that are horrific or focused If you have a condition that is the same or similar to the one you are reading about.

Create some time limits for how long you look for information online and which sources you are checking. Use known medical resources and primarily rely on the medical care team at UCLA Medical Center in Westwood.

6. Keep A Purpose and A Routine

Try to keep as much of your routine as you can before the surgery. Remaining active with your job, hobbies, friendships, and other purpose giving activities helps you cope with everything.

Every routine act can help keep you emotionally stable, This includes walking, having your meal with the family, and watching your favorite show.

Mental Health After Heart Surgery: What to Look For

Patients are often surprised by how many emotional difficulties occur after the surgery. In particular, cardiac surgery patients face many mental roadblocks.

Depression after Heart Surgery

Patients may experience depression after undergoing a Serious Heart Surgery. 30-40% of the patients who go through Serious Heart Surgery develop a condition known as Post-Cardiac Surgery Depression (PCSD) where someone may feel persistent sadness, loss of pleasure or interest, emotional numbness, sleep disruption, irritability, and emotional detachment.

Depression takes many forms, and as a diagnosis, the person must have a clear and thorough understanding of what is going on in the mind and the body. Most patients do not feel the physical or emotional effects of a major medical procedure, and for those who do, it is recognized as a normal medical reaction. If you or the person that just underwent Heart Surgery in Los Angeles is showing these symptoms, it is critical that you inform the medical team of what you are experiencing.

Post Traumatic Stress after Heart Surgery

Patients encountering a cardial event (loss of blood flow to the heart) and going through a very complex and difficult surgery may experience what is known as Cardial Surgery and develop the beahvior of someone who has been through Traumatic Stress ( PTSD). Patients may experience flashbacks about the procedure, sleep disturbances, and nightmares and become overly alert (being stimulated) about every single thing.

The situation is very treatable when you have the right clinical team and, unfortunately, not many patients suffering from such a reaction seek medical advice.

Cognitive Changes

After open-heart surgery it’s not unusual for patients to experience foggy memory or difficulty concentrating, and to become emotionally sensitive and experience what some call “pump head” or post-operative cognitive dysfunction. Although these symptoms resolve on their own within weeks or months, they can be distressing for some patients when they experience these symptoms unprepared. Preparing yourself, in advance, can be helpful.

Dr. Tehrani, and your care team, can help. He is able to discuss what the symptoms will be and how big of a role these reactions will play in the cognitive changes that you will encounter.

You Do Not Have to Go Through This Alone

Heart surgery requires a lot of physical bravery and emotional endurance to process all that it entails. Not all patients can easily traverse this extensive journey. For patients in Los Angeles, it is an advantage to be able to receive some of the most advanced cardiac care. What is even more valuable is that this care extends beyond the heart of the operation.

Dr. Maria Tehrani and her staff at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Westwood understand that each patient they see has a unique cardiac journey that includes emotional and psychological support. If you’re looking for a caring cardiac surgeon in Los Angeles, Dr. Tehrani will support you through your journey.

Call Dr. Maria Tehrani in Westwood, Los Angeles

📞 818-350-9899

📧 welcome@mariatehranimd.com

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