Open Heart Surgery
Open heart surgery, or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), is a surgical procedure in which one or more blocked coronary arteries are passed by a blood vessel graft to restore normal blood flow to the heart. These grafts usually come from the patient’s own arteries and veins located in the chest (thoracic), leg (saphenous) or arm (radial). The graft goes around the blocked artery (or arteries) to create new pathways for oxygen-rich blood to flow to the heart.
Who is eligible to receive coronary artery bypass graft surgery?
Diagnostic tests have helped your heart doctor identify the location, type and extent of your coronary artery disease. The results of these tests, the structure of your heart, your age, the severity of your symptoms, the presence of other medical conditions and your lifestyle will help your cardiologist, surgeon and you determine what type of treatment is best.
At the Center for Cardiovascular Medicine, CABG surgery may be combined with other heart surgeries, such as valve surgery, aortic aneurysm surgery or surgery to treat atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat).