Heart-bypass surgery creates new routes for blood to detour around blocked coronary arteries. The “symptoms” patients notice are usually post-operative changes or early warning flags that something isn’t healing as planned.

Chest soreness is expected. A deep, bruise-like ache along the incision and around the breastbone can spike with coughing, deep breaths, or rolling over; it usually fades over six–eight weeks.

Leg or arm ache matches. The harvest site (usually the inner leg) feels like a long bruise; sudden calf pain or swelling can mean a clot.

Brief heart skips are common. The heart can feel fluttery for days while surgical irritation settles; sustained racing, dizziness, or fainting is not.

Low-grade fever and night sweats can pop up for forty-eight hours; high fever, chills, or foul-smelling wound drainage suggest infection.

Shortness of breath that’s new or worse can signal fluid around the heart or a clot in the lung.

Late alarms include chest pain that feels like the pre-surgery angina, a hard time breathing when flat, or a leg that turns blue—clues a graft or native artery may be blocking again.