Recliner helps. It helps your helper get you up, but it is difficult for a while. You may not like laying around, but this surgery kinda changes your mind for a while. Hubby got infection in his stitches so he had to take an antibiotic. Turns out he was allergic to the blood thinner that they gave him, tiny itchy rash all over his abdomen. And like someone else said do your breathing exercises. Once it’s over, we didn’t have anymore problems for many years. He had a 5 way bypass, not a valve replacement.