Heart Bypass Surgery | Types | Diagnosis | Preparation
Heart bypass surgery or coronary artery bypass surgery is used to replace the damaged arteries in the heart muscle. A surgeon uses blood vessels taken from another area of your body to repair the damaged arteries.
This surgery is done when coronary arteries become blocked or damaged. These Arteries may supply the heart with an oxygenated blood. If these arteries are blocked or blood flow is restricted, then the heart doesn’t work properly. This can lead to heart failure.
Types of heart bypass surgery:
Doctor will recommend a certain type of bypass surgery that depends on how many of the arteries are blocked.
- Single bypass: only one artery is blocked
- Double bypass: two arteries are blocked
- Triple bypass: three arteries are blocked
- Quadruple bypass: four arteries are blocked
Risk of having a heart attack, heart failure, or any other cardiac issues will depends on the number of arteries that are blocked. Blockage in more arteries also means that the surgery may take longer or become more complex.
Causes:
When a material in the blood (plaque) builds up on the arterial walls, less blood flows into the heart muscle. The muscle is more likely to become exhausted and fail if it’s not receiving enough blood. Any damage this creates most often affects the left ventricle, the heart’s primary pump. Doctor will recommend to have heart bypass surgery if the coronary arteries has too narrowed or blocked that will runs in a high risk of the heart attack.
This condition is called coronary artery disease, or atherosclerosis. Doctor will recommend bypass surgery when the blockage is too severe to manage with the medication or other treatments.
Risks:
Any open-heart surgery, heart bypass surgery that carries risks. All surgeries come with the chance of problems. There is still a risk for some complications after surgery. These complications could include:
- Bleeding
- Arrhythmia
- Blood Clots
- Chest Pain
- Infection
- Kidney Failure
- Low-Grade Fever
- Temporary Or Permanent Memory Loss
- Heart Attack Or Stroke
Diagnosis:
Some medical conditions can complicate surgery or eliminate it as a possibility.
Conditions that can cause complications include:
- Diabetes
- Emphysema
- Kidney Disease
- Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Discuss these issues with the doctor before scheduling the surgery. Also need to talk about the surgery with the family, medical history and also any prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications are taking. Planned surgery outcomes are usually better than emergency surgery.
Preparation:
Doctor recommends heart bypass surgery, they will give you complete instructions on how to prepare. If the surgery was scheduled in advance it is not an emergency procedure, also to have several preoperative appointments will be asked about the health and the family medical history. Also need to undergo for several tests to help the doctor to get an accurate picture of your health. These test may also include:
- Blood Samples
- Chest X-Ray
- Electrocardiogram (ECG Or EKG)
- Angiogram
Source: Heart Bypass Surgery
