Older women's experiences of living alone after heart surgery

An increasing number of women who have coronary artery disease have undergone heart surgery and are living alone. This qualitative descriptive study identified four primary themes that constituted essential structures of the post-recovery experience for 12 older women living alone after coronary artery bypass surgery. Themes included (1) survival relief, experienced as awe and gratitude; (2) going on, described as an obligation; (3) living within a contracted world, structured by a sense of vulnerability; and (4) regained independence, characterized by affirmation of self-worth and personal freedom. Post-recovery meant restoring the identity the women had known before surgery together with actualizing the value of self-reliance.