Besushi,

Thanks for your question.

It takes a good four to six weeks to feel like a human being again after open heart surgery.  Usual complaints center around incisional (and sternal) discomfort, fatigue and weakness.

The symptoms you have described in your question raise some concerns that need to be checked out by his physician.  At this point his cough (due to anesthesia and post operative mechanical ventilation) should be minimal or gone.  He should not be experiencing the sweats you've described.

I am concerned about a fluid buildup in his chest called a pleural effusion which can cause the cough and breathing difficulty.  Another possibility is fluid buildup within his lungs which is congestive heart failure and that could cause these symptoms.  And finally, when I hear about sweats and a cough, I am always concerned about pneumonia.  The sweats themselves raise a concern for infection anywhere such as the lungs (pneumonia), fluid around the lungs (pleural effusion), incisions (especially the sternum or breastbone), or any site that may have been used to harvest a vessel for the bypass surgery.

The bottom line is that your Father's doctor needs to be made aware of the situation and your Father should be seen as soon as possible.  In the meantime, take your Father's temperature three times a day and when he has any sweats.  Should your Father develop severe shortness of breath or high fevers with shaking chills, he needs to be seen immediately, even if this means a trip to the emergency room.

I hope this has been helpful.  Best wishes to your Father with hopes that this is a minor bump in the road to recovery.

Martin Cane, M.D.