The purpose of this evidence-based nursing practice article is to discuss the effectiveness of deep breathing exercises in the care of a patient who recently underwent coronary artery bypass surgery. graft surgery (PAC). He will also critique two professional research studies on this topic and answer three essential questions about each study. What are the results of the study? Are the study results valid? How clinically relevant are the results for this patient? The patient, who will be referred to as Mr. Doe throughout this article, is a 58-year-old man with coronary artery disease. His past medical history includes angina, shortness of breath, type II diabetes, and high cholesterol. He was scheduled for a CABG, and this was performed on February 4 of this year (Mr. Doe, personal communication). Two days after the operation, Mr. Doe regularly complained of pain and nausea, for which he was treated by a doctor. patient-controlled analgesia pump (PCA) and with intravenous medications. He had decreased breath sounds in his right and left upper lobes, and his O2 saturations were stable at 94%. He was reluctant to travel early in the morning, saying the nausea was too severe and the medications "made him too dizzy" (M. Doe, personal communication). It was also difficult to get Mr. Doe to perform deep breathing exercises every hour because of nausea, but he performed them when the nurse asked him to do so and was reminded of the importance of these exercises in preventing complications. Deep breathing exercises are very important after any surgical procedure. Current research indicates that "postoperative hypoventilation may be a problem after abdominal or thoracic surgery if pain prevents the patient from ...... middle of article ...... patients." Works Cited Pruitt, B. (2006). Help your patient combat postoperative atelectasis. Nursing 2006, 36(5), retrieved February 17, 2010 from CINAHL with full text database. Stiller, K., Montarello, J., Wallace, M., Daff, M., Grant, R., Jenkins, S., Hall, B., & Yates, H. (1994). Effectiveness of breathing and coughing exercises in preventing pulmonary complications after coronary surgery. American College of Thoracic Physicians, 105(3), 741-747. Retrieved from http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/105/3/741.Westerdahl, E., Lindmark, B., Eriksson, T., Friberg, O., Hedenstierna, G., and Tenling, A. ( 2005). Deep breathing exercises reduce atelectasis and improve lung function after coronary artery bypass grafting. American College of Chest Physicians, 128(5). Retrieved from http://chestjournal.chestpubs.org/content/128/5/3482.full.html.