Patient's Guide to Heart Transplant Surgery

Chest PT

Your nurse and the respiratory therapist may frequently do what they call "chest PT" on you. This involves placing you on your side and then clapping and vibrating their hands on your back. The sound can be very loud, but it does not hurt. What they are doing is loosening any mucus that may be in your lungs and airways so you can cough it up. This helps to cut down on the chance of you getting a lung infection.

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