Coronary Artery

Bypass
Lets have a heart to heart about the heart:
The heart is divided into four chambers
consisting of two atria and two ventricles
The atria receives blood, but the ventricles pump
blood.
The right atrium receives blood from the
superior and inferior vena cavas and the
coronary sinus
Blood moves to the right ventricle where it is
pumped to the lungs.

What is a Coronary Artery

Bypass?
The bypass surgery treats blocked heart arteries by taking arteries or veins from
other parts of your body, called grafts, and uses them to reroute the blood
around the clogged artery to provide blood flow to your heart muscle. A patient
may undergo one or more than one bypass grafts, depending on how many
coronary arteries are narrowed. While this procedure only takes 5-6 hours, it
requires several days in the hospital.
 All Your Need To Knows

Am I an appropriate patient for bypass surgery?

Severe CAD often causes a patient to have bypass surgery. CAD is a condition involving the
clogging of arteries, they bring blood to the heart muscle, caused by fatty deposits on the inner
walls of the arteries.

Pre-Op Precautions

Your doctor will give specific instructions on what to change in your diet and what exercises
will have the biggest benefit. You will need several pre-surgical tests, often including chest X-
rays, blood tests, an electrocardiogram and a coronary angiogram. A coronary angiogram is a
special type of X-ray procedure that uses dye to make the arteries that feed your heart visible.
The majority of people are admitted to the hospital the morning of the surgery. Coronary
bypass surgery may also be performed in emergency situations, such as after a heart attack.
Post-Op Precautions

The normal recovery time after a heart valve surgery is about four to eight weeks. Directly
following surgery, people are typically able to perform very basic self-care and they are
encouraged to get up soon after. They are told to breathe deeply, and to resume eating,
drinking and walking. For at least the first six weeks after your surgery, you shouldnt lift
anything that is over 10 pounds. Medications that are typically administered are to reduce
cholesterol. Examples are antiplatelet and aspirin to prevent blood clots, beta-blockers and
ACE inhibitors to help lower blood pressure, and nitrates to control chest pain (if some
diseased blood vessels could not be bypassed).

Cardiac Rehabilitation
This is a medically supervised program designed to help improve your cardiovascular health
if you have experienced heart attack, heart failure, angioplasty or heart surgery, such as
coronary bypass. Its purpose is to educate patients on healthy heart living, counsel patients on
how to reduce stress, and provide exercise counseling and training. This is needed to
strengthen the heart again!