Heart Bypass Surgery

Heart bypass surgery is sometimes referred to as coronary artery bypass surgery that those in medicine quaintly refer to as CABG or “cabbage.” The surgery’s intent is to reroute or bypass blood around arteries that have become clogged and thereby improve oxygen to the heart as well as improving the overall blood flow.

This is done because the arteries, whose job consists of bringing blood to the heart muscle, have clogged by plaque. Plaque is a buildup of cholesterol, fat and other debris. This plaque can actually stop or at least lessen the blood flow through the vessels serving the heart.

This usually leads to chest pain or worse, a heart attack. Medicine has however, found that increasing the blood flow through the vessels of the heat’s chambers relieves the associated chest pain and can even prevent that heart attack.

Heart bypass surgery is accomplished by the surgeon taking a healthy artery from another part of the body and inserting it in place of the clogged artery thereby making a detour or a bypass to the oxygen starved heart.

Sometimes this is a piece that is used from the chest wall, or one from your leg may be used. Either way, the surgeon has to carefully graft the new artery in place and then the newly made path will allow the blood to run freely to the heart.

Depending on how many arteries the patient has that are blocked, sometimes the surgeon may do this a number of times. Besides the surgeon, the operating room may hold other cardiac surgical staff. For instance there is usually a surgical nurse present, and of course an anesthesiologist and there may even be a perfusionist. A perfusionist is a blood flow specialist.

Most heart bypass surgery requires the surgeon to use a pump oxygenator which is actually a heart-lung machine which will do the job of your heart and lungs while your heart is being worked upon. Many surgeons now work without this pump as the final outcome seems to be much better without the use of one. The result is that there will probably not be a necessary blood transfusion called for and there may also be less renal complications. In addition there are consequently less problems following the heart bypass surgery.

Following heart bypass surgery the patient is returned to the cardiac surgical intensive care floor. Usually for a set amount of time such as 12 to 24 hours, the heart rate and blood pressure is monitored continuously to ascertain that there are no problems with the bypass. Medications that control heart function will be given intravenously as well as pain meds.

Most often patients will remain hospitalized for about four to six days. The patient will be very closely monitored at that time, prior to being allowed to go home. Once home, most patients need to enroll in a cardiac rehabilitation program.

Part of the program is to give the patient of heart bypass surgery the chance to learn stress management, as well as foods that give them the strength and endurance in order to begin an exercise program.

Please also check out my other guide on stomach banding and stomach pump

Heart Bypass Surgery

after heart bypass surgery

Heart Bypass Surgery

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