Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery

Sometimes referred to as “heart bypass” surgery, a coronary artery bypass may be performed to address atherosclerosis (where a build-up of cholesterol and fat within an artery results in its becoming significantly narrowed or blocked). It may also be employed as a means of addressing angina linked to coronary heart disease, or as a surgical intervention following a heart attack when an angioplasty procedure has failed to effectively open the arteries. The surgery effectively re-routes blood that is going to the heart, with the surgeon harvesting a vein or artery from another part of the body and connecting it both above and below the point where the blockage occurs – thereby “bypassing” the problematic area. Some patients have more than one blocked artery and therefore may require a double, triple or even quadruple coronary bypass procedure.