Bypass Heart Surgery

Heart bypasses surgery (also known as coronary artery bypass graft surgery), is a surgical procedure performed to alleviate angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease. This surgery is performed as a safeguard against premature death from heart disease characterized by severe blockages of arteries or veins. Some factors, such as the buildup of fat, cholesterol and other substances can clogged the arteries that bring blood to the heart muscle (coronary arteries). This can prevent or stop blood run through the heart's blood vessels, which may lead to chest pain or a heart attack. Escalating blood flow to the heart muscle can ease chest pain and diminish the risk of heart attack. The surgery of heart bypass reroutes, or "bypasses," blood around clogged arteries to improve blood flow and oxygen to the heart because avoiding it can be life threatening.

Some causes that may increase the risk of bypasses surgery coronary artery bypass graft are such as-when patient has two or three blood vessels with blockages, or when the major vessel has a severe blockage, diabetes, failed coronary angioplasty, smoking, hypertension (high blood pressure), elevated cholesterol, overweight or obesity or sedentary lifestyle.

Surgery of heart bypass is performed by using of general anesthesia. Surgeon makes an incision down the center of the breastbone and connects the heart to a heart-lung machine that will take over its work throughout the surgery. Then surgeon takes a segment of a healthy blood vessel from another part of the body (most usually from leg or chest wall) and makes a detour around the blocked part of the coronary artery. Sometimes one or more arteries can be bypassed during the surgery, hence the term double or triple heart bypass surgery. This surgery usually takes around 3 to 5 hours for its successful completion, depending on the number of bypasses and the complexity of the surgery. 4-5 days of hospital stay is required for patient after heart bypass surgery. Some pain can be experienced during initial few days but it will diminish automatically after few days. Complete recovery can be achieved after several months.