Patient perception of cardiovascular surgical patient education.

After surgery, 100 adult cardiac surgical patients participated in a study to determine what information was important to them and how well prepared they were. Questionnaires were administered 5 to 10 days after surgery and 1 to 4 weeks after discharge. In general patients received information that they perceived to be important, and they believed that preparation was more than adequate. Patients indicated a need to know more information about medication side effects than they received, and they did not desire as much information about emotional changes or sexual activity as the literature suggested.