This work seeks to answer the questions frequently asked by newly-qualified nurses or nurses entering the specialty of cardiac surgery. It identifies the needs of the adult patient recovering from cardiac surgery, and focuses on the more common procedures of coronary artery bypass graft and valve surgery. The information provided should enable evidence-based nursing care to support interventions in the meeting of those needs. The text should allow nurses in this specialist area to concentrate on a high basic standard of nursing care, ensuring that the needs of the patient are not neglected in the pursuit of technological advancement. The author discusses the main complications that may occur and how these can be dealt with.