Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get StartedHow you prepare
By Mayo Clinic staffTo prepare for coronary bypass surgery, your doctor will give you specific instructions about any activity restrictions and changes in your diet or medications you should follow before surgery. You'll need several presurgical tests, often including chest X-rays, blood tests, an electrocardiogram and a coronary angiogram, which is a special type of X-ray procedure that uses dye to visualize the arteries that feed your heart. Most people are admitted to the hospital the morning of the day of surgery.
Be sure to make arrangements for the weeks following your surgery. It will take about four to six weeks for you to recover to the point when you can resume driving, going to work and performing daily chores.