Citations:
1996 [Blackie Lawless] Usenet: sci.med.nursing (Aug. 11) “Re: My husband had CABG -HELP!”: He is experiencing pump psychosis, or as we call it in the business “pump head.” 1999 Jerome Groopman New Yorker (Jan. 11) “Heart Surgery, Unplugged: Coronary Bypass Without Stopping the Heart” p. 43: From thirty to fifty per cent of patients will experience a syndrome Cohn calls “pump head,” in which they suffer significant cognitive deficits: memory loss, inability to concentrate, difficulties in recognizing patterns, and an inability to perform basic calculations. 2000 Sandeep Jauhar New York Times (Sept. 19) “Saving the Heart Can Sometimes Mean Losing the Memory” p. F1: The syndrome is so pervasive that heart surgeons and cardiologists have coined a term for it: pump head. Some even go so far as to encourage some patients to seek other remedies for their heart disease. 2004 Los Angeles Times (Oct. 4) “Heal the heart, hurt the mind?”: Clinton stands a good chance of fully rebounding from the bypass surgery, in which doctors replace clogged arteries to the heart with veins and arteries taken from elsewhere in the body. But many people who undergo the procedure…find that their brains don’t function as well as they did before.…In the medical world, this effect is commonly referred to as “pump head,” reflecting the widespread, though unproven, belief that the condition is caused by the heart-lung machine.
Reader comments:
I underwent open heart surgery for a valve replacement almost five years ago. I have experienced all the symptoms mentioned plus. I cried reading about “pump head” and the Duke study. I have told doctors and social security of these symptoms for about four and a half years. Most think you are crazy and most have blamed the symptoms on diabetes. It is freeing to see in print that I am one of many. I don’t feel that I have dementia or have become stupid but I do feel that there are many things I can no longer do. If I could do it over I would still have the surgery…I really had no choice but I would certainly discuss the “rewarming” process thoroughly before proceeding.
by Patricia McManus 27 May 08, 0158 GMT
My husband underwent bypass surgery in July of 2007.Within a few months he was showing signs of something not being right. He didn’t act like himself at all. He has always been fun and easy going. NOW,nothing seems to make him laugh.He is a completely different person.Sometimes he is just mean,most of the time that is.His personality has completely changed. Other people have noticed he’s not the same. We have been in some big fights.He says nothing is wrong with him. Any advice????
by Alice 18 Sep 08, 0207 GMT
My husband had open heart surgery 2 years ago to remove a tumor. One year to the day, he had a second open heart surgery to replace a valve. Since that time, his personality had completely changed. He is cruel, thoughtless, has alienated his friends and family, is not interested in anything and spends a lot of time thinking about death. Is very forgetful and almost seems like a differnt man. I am at my wits end and actually thinking of divorce. Is there any help out there?
by cassandra 08 Oct 08, 0843 GMT
Shannon Brownlee, in her book, “Overtreated, Why to Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer” discusses the “pump head” effect (p.102-103) in the fourth chapter called “Broken Hearts.” . She mentions that this is a common occurrence. I would urge that anyone who has a layman’s interest in our disfunctional healthcare system read this book. This is a book that every candidate for public office who has to decide on healthcare benefits for civil service employees should be reading.
by Jay Tillotson 13 Oct 08, 1059 GMT
In April 2008 my husband had a 6 vessel bypass surgery and has never been the same since. It has destroyed our marriage. He became another man, one that I did not know. He experienced psychosis, anger issues and became very paranoid.
He had experienced a stroke prior to his bypass surgery and the vessel damage was extensive as apparent by the numbers of bypasses attempted. He suffered from irritability and dramatic mood disorders prior to bypass surgery, these issues increased dramatically after surgery. He sought treatment from unlicensed groups and organizations which worsened the problem due to their lack of education and knowledge regarding this disorder. I am encouraging person or family member dealing with issues like these to only seek treatment from licensed professionals who are experineced and trained in this syndrome.
by Sandi Boniello 29 Oct 08, 0814 GMT
It is comforting to see that I am not the only one that has figured out what is going on!! And that I am not completely crazy thinking my husband has a split personality. I have talked to Dr.s and read as much as I can about “pump head”. They will only acknowledge that it can cause memory loss, etc. They WILL NOT discuss the personality changes that occurr. It is destroying families and marriages. My husband and I married just 5 years ago and then the surgeries started. We had planned a lifetime together. But now he is a completely different person. Rude, thoughtless, selfish, cruel, will tell you that he doesn’t care about anything or anybody. Doesn’t have friends anymore and has alienated his family. I do not know this man…..and I can’t seem to find help. I have made the decision to leave him, but it breaks my heart. My prayer are with all of you as we try to get thru this. When will the medical profession acknowledge this problem??!!!!
by Cassandra 30 Oct 08, 0316 GMT
Can this website find a way to allow these families to exchange emails and form support groups?
You will find little support from the medical professional staff and I think that might related to the fear of malpractice.
I am composing a website now that will be online shortly at www.pumpheadsyndrome.com neuro and cognitive dysfunction after bypass surgery.
Seek help for yourself and do what you have to do to maintain your wellbeing, my husband refused professional treatmnet. It does destroy everything, marriages included. It has been far worse than the bypass surgery,
If you would like to email me please do so sandiandphilip@aol.com
Let’s try and help each other.
by Sandi Boniello 31 Oct 08, 0123 GMT
I am relieved to find even the slightest information and others with similar symptoms. I had open lung surgery in 2007 in which they actually shut off the machine for 30 minutes at a time to open up the vessels in my lungs to operate on them. So I was refridgerated and “dead” on the operating room table for what they say was a total of about an hour. Ever since I have had personality changes, anxiety, my memory is shot. I can’t find words when I talk. I stutter and wander around the house wondering what I was trying to remember to do. I can’t comprehend things very fast at all and even can’t read a book anymore. It is so frustrating. There needs to be more help for us out there.
by Dawn 10 Dec 08, 1147 GMT
A year ago I had 2 valves and 3 bypasses installed and since then my emotions seem to be on vacation and my intellectual capabilities are significantly decreased. Mt cardiologist mentioned “pump head’ as a possible cause and I have since looked it up on the web and it seems to fit my situation. He said that most people seem to gradually improve for about a year and a half and at that point whoever you are is fixed.
I would like to know if psychological therapy or some other therapy might help bring back some of the original me. The new me is boring and insensitive and not interested in anything.
by Gerald B Smith 28 Dec 08, 0756 GMT
My mother had triple bypass surgery at the end of November. She experienced psychosis for 6 days. During that time she says she was part of a horror film. She would not open her eyes, her mind was not there. She knew who was with her and she would answer our questions but she was experiencing something awful. She was also given Haldol which is a drug they give to patients with schizophrenia. We aren’t sure if this drug contributed to her psychosis. She does not remember anything of the surgery. All we know is that she went in a normal person and came out a scared, nervous lady.
by Margaret Diorio 30 Dec 08, 0353 GMT
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