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"How Long Were You In The Intensive Care Unit After Heart Surgery?" Asks Cindy

Written By: Adam Pick, Patient Advocate, Author & Website Founder
Page Last Updated: May 11, 2025

Cindy, from Illinois, just asked me a fantastic question about heart valve surgery and the intensive care unit (ICU).

Her email reads, "Adam - The time is finally here. After suffering from aortic stenosis for the past twelve months, I'm going in for heart valve replacement next week. Yes, I'm nervous. Yes, I'm anxious. Anyways, I have a question for you about the ICU. How long were you (and other patients) in the intensive care unit? I want to know what to expect and I want to make sure my family knows what to expect. Thanks, Cindy."

To start, I want to acknowledge Cindy for asking an excellent question. In my opinion, expectation management is critical for patients and their caregivers. That said, I'd like to publicly say, "Great job Cindy!"

Adam Pick, heart valve patient, in intensive care unit after open heart surgery with chest tubes still in

Me (Adam) In The Intensive Care Unit

As for Cindy's question, I was in the intensive care unit for 24 hours following my aortic valve replacement at USC Medical Center in Los Angeles. However, just because I was in the ICU for one day, that does not mean all patients will have the same experience. (To learn more about aortic valve replacement, click here.)

If there is one thing I stress and re-stress to my readers, it is the fact that heart valve surgery is a personal, patient experience. While there are benchmarks to guide patients through that experience, please remember that your experience will be your own - especially during the recovery.

"How does that relate to Cindy's question about time spent in the intensive care unit following heart surgery?" you might be wondering.

Well...

In the past four years, I have spoke with thousands of heart valve surgery patients. During the research for my book, I learned that some patients are in the ICU for only one day (just like me). Other patients, however, remained in the ICU for 2-3 days. Sometimes, if surgical complications occur, patients remain in the ICU for longer periods of time.

Again, the experience of heart surgery is personal. That is why, if I was to answer Cindy's question, I would simply say, "It depends." However, most of the patients I have discussed this topic with are in the intensive care unit for 1-2 days.

In addition, there are newer transcatheter heart valve procedures - including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) and transcatheter mitral valve replacement - in which the patient's sternum and ribs are not broken. That said, for patients undergoing TAVR, they may be out of the intensive care unit in just one hour and leaving the hospital just one day after the procedure. So again, the time in the ICU varies greatly for heart valve surgery patients.

Written by Adam Pick - Patient & Website Founder

Adam Pick is a heart valve patient and author of The Patient's Guide To Heart Valve Surgery. In 2006, Adam founded HeartValveSurgery.com to educate and empower patients. This award-winning website has helped over 10 million people fight heart valve disease. Adam has been featured by the American Heart Association and Medical News Today.

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