“What About A Post-Operative Cough Following Heart Valve Surgery?” Asks Rob
By Adam Pick on January 21, 2011
I recently received an interesting question from Rob about a post-operative cough following heart valve surgery.
Rob writes, “Adam, My wife — Gail — recently had a valve sparing aortic valve repair and had an artificial aorta. Gail has had a post-operative cough for about 5 days now. Is this common? Are there any remedies to help it along? Thanks for all you do! Rob”
To ensure that Rob received an expert response to his question, I contacted Dr. Jeffrey Swanson, a leading heart valve surgeon from Portland, Oregon.
During his 20+ year career, Dr. Swanson has performed over 3,000 heart valve procedures at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center. (Not only is Dr. Swanson a highly-recommended surgeon – from many visitors of this website – he’s a very nice guy as well.)
Specific to cough following heart valve repair and heart valve replacement surgery, Dr. Swanson shared the following with me, “Post-operative cough can be a frustrating nuisance in an otherwise uneventful post-operative course. Frequently, the cough is of little significance and can simply be related to some residual inflammation in the trachea resulting from having been connected to a ventilator by a tube inserted in the trachea. This type of irritation-related cough generally resolves spontaneously after a few weeks and requires no specific therapy other than palliation of the cough itself.
As for a persistent cough, Dr. Swanson noted, “A persistent cough can also be related to some residual volume overload which is common, particularly in older patients, following cardiopulmonary bypass and fluid resuscitation for heart surgery. This can generally be managed with a short course of diuretics. A cough that does not resolve quickly can be a symptom of more significant problems, however, and might signal an underlying lung complication such as bronchitis, pneumonia, or a fluid collection in the chest cavity surrounding the lung. If the cough produces foul sputum (mucus with pus) or fevers, further investigation should be pursued aggressively.”
Dr. Swanson also reflected on the potential link between post-operative cough and certain medications, “Finally, a nagging cough can be associated with medications and it is not uncommon that patients undergoing cardiac surgery are started on new prescriptions following their operation. One class of medications known as ACE inhibitors is very useful in the management of hypertension and coronary artery disease and is known to cause a persistent cough in some patients. In any case of prolonged post operative cough, the patient should report these symptoms to their physicians and not simply assume the cough is benign.
I hope this helps Rob, Gail and perhaps you learn more about cough following heart valve surgery. Thanks to Rob for his question. And, a special thanks to Dr. Swanson for providing some great clinical insights!
Keep on tickin!
Adam
Written by Adam Pick
- Patient & Website Founder
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Dave Hooper says on May 15th, 2011 at 11:33 am |
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I found that after my aortic valve replacement I also came down with a dry, unproductive cough which hurt due to my sternotomy. I found that it was caused by a pill I was taking called Enalapril (Vasotec). After receiving permission to stop taking this pill my cough ceased after eight days. The label on the Enalpril even warned of a dry unproductive cough. |
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Julie Sullivan says on November 29th, 2013 at 6:55 pm |
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I have a friend who had triple bypass monday, today she started coughing up blood. Is this serious, or normal after surgery? |
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Naresh Chand says on February 9th, 2014 at 4:54 pm |
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I had AVR + ROOT REPLACEMENT ON 10 DEC, 2013. I HAVE RHEUMATOID ARITRITIES. I have dry cough and vomitting. For last 10 days. I have stopped taking Lepumide. Please advice. |
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Dr Tariq says on March 26th, 2014 at 4:00 am |
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My cousin recently (one month back) had DVR and started having dry cough. He consulted me regarding his problem. As I am a chemical pathologist so I could just ensure him and advised him to consult his doctor. Yesterday I was browsing through and I read Dr Swanson’s comments regarding post op cough in such cases on Adam’s website and was able to allay a lot of fears and answer many a queries and complaints of my cousin. Thanks Adam , Thanks Dr Swanson |
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Jack says on May 12th, 2014 at 7:52 am |
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I too have the painful burning cough. It is modestly productive and not completely dry, but persistent. I don’t have fever or other symptoms. Can I use a suppressant/expectorant? What about Ibuprofen for inflammation, considering I’m on warfarin? |
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Kalvant Kaur says on May 11th, 2017 at 8:20 am |
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If one has a persistant cough is it safe to go in for a bypass surgery or wait till the cough clears? |
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suter says on July 17th, 2018 at 8:19 am |
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3 mounths ago i had a openheart surgery.i got two days ago bronchitis..i feel pain on the heartside like someone picking with a needle |
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