Coronary Artery BypassSurgery

The bypass surgery has been performed for nearly 30 years.  Cardiovascular surgeon have extensive training on bypass technique.

If you are suffering chest pain or other symptoms that may indicate a cardiovascular problem. Your doctor will likely want you to under go an angiogram to see it your coronary arteries are blocked by plaque.

You have severe blockage in multiple major vessels, your doctor may recommend that you under go coronary artery bypass graft [CABG) surgery.

Cause of surgery

* The left main heart artery is significantly narrowed.

* All three arteries of the heart are blocked or have significantly reduced blood flow.

* Blocked arteries cannot be treated with angioplasty or stenting.

* Certain factor such as the person’s age, gender, overall heath, previous bypass surgery or other factor are determined to increase the risk of angioplasty.

* Surgery also is required to repair or replace a heart valve damaged by heart valve disease.

Management

Surgery

During a coronary artery bypass, the diseased section of your coronary arteries are bypassed with healthy artery or vein graft to increase blood flow to the heart muscle tissue.

This procedure is also called coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Bypass typically required open chest surgery. There are several lowerless invasive techniques for bypass surgery that can be used instead of open-chest surgery in some cases.

In some procedure, the heart is slowed with medication but is still beating during the procedure.

In the past, the surgeon would remove a vein from elsewhere in the body (often from the leg) and attach it to the blocked or arteries in the heart.

After the surgery

After surgery, there will be a snort –stay (1 to 2 days it there are the complications) in the intensive care unit (ICU). In the ICU the person will likely have

* Continuous monitoring of his or her heart activity.

* A tube to temporarily help with breathing.

* A stomach to be to remove stomach secretion until the reason start eating again.

* A tube (Catheter) to drain the bladder and measure urine out put.

* Tubes connected to vein in the arms. (IV lines)

You will typically stay in the hospital from 3 to 8 days after open chest surgery. The amount of time you stay varies and will depend on your health before bypass surgery and whether complications develop from surgery.

After discharge, recovery at home takes 4 to 6 weeks. Recovery includes physical therapy, people who are able to return to work can usually do so within 1 to 2 month, depending on the type of work they do.