Coronary Bypass Surgery to Bypass the Clogged Arteries
Coronary Bypass is also called Coronary Artery
Bypass Grafting (CABG) or Heart Bypass is a surgical procedure performed
in patients with severe coronary
artery disease.
This procedure is usually appropriate for people who have a blocked
left main coronary artery, those with disease in many vessels, and
poor function of the left ventricle, and with people with debilitating
angina pains.
In this procedure the blood flow to the heart muscle is rerouted.
Veins or arteries from elsewhere in the body either from the leg,
or from the aorta itself are used as a bypass tube to reroute the
blood flow.
One end of the new vessel is connected to the aorta, near where
the original artery originated, and the other end is connected to
the coronary arteries, further
down from where the artery was blocked.
By rerouting the artery the blood, can
then reach the heart muscle supplying it with the necessary oxygen
it needs to pump efficiently.
The Coronary Bypass Procedure
The coronary bypass procedure is done by making an incision in
the midline of the chest through the breast bone. The heart is cooled
down and chemicals slow down the metabolism of the heart reducing
its need for oxygen.
A heart lung machine bypass machine, replaces the function of
the heart and the lungs temporarily. The machine takes blood that
is returning from the body through the right atrium and diverts
it into the machine that oxygenates the blood. It then pumps the
blood into the aorta, where it gets pumped into the rest of the
organs in the body, except for the heart and lungs.
An incision is made in the leg or elsewhere where the new vessel
is taken from. It is removed and connected to the aorta near where
the original artery originated from. At times several incisions
have to be made when several different arteries have to be bypassed.
The surgery takes around three to six hours, depending on the
amount of arteries that have to be bypassed and rerouted.
Results of the Coronary Bypass Procedure
The procedure is usually successful. Around ninety percent of
patients state that their angina symptoms
have improved significantly, and they are now able to live a more
productive active life.
Forty percent of have had the surgery show signs of new blockages
within ten years, and the angina symptoms reoccur. Either they are
new blockages on the new arteries, or they are new blockages on
the arteries that weren't bypassed. Many times these new blockages
that are causing the new angina pains are on arteries that are too
small to be bypassed.
The Risks of the Coronary Bypass Procedure
There is around a two percent chance of dying from the procedure.
If it is done during an acute heart attack the chances increase
to around eight percent.
How Can You Prevent the Need for Open Heart Surgery
and a Coronary Bypass Procedure?
You can avoid a coronary bypass surgery by taking the necessary
precautions to avoid heart disease in the first place.
This can be done through:
Why wait till it's too late, begin living a healthy active lifestyle
now.
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