Heart bypass surgery Treatment

The heart bypass surgery procedure is well known across the world and is increasingly being put into practice by various surgeons. This surgery is basically performed to provide solutions for the blocked arteries which causes increased pressure on the functioning of the heart and can even lead to mild or a severe heart attack. This surgery essentially creates a separate route which is essentially known as the bypass so that the oxygen as well as the blood can flow efficiently to the heart without any stoppage or blockings.

The blocked arteries make it difficult for the heart to get sufficient blood and oxygen in a convenient way. Such a condition is known as the disease of coronary bypass surgery treatment. Heart bypass surgery is one of the techniques that are considered a viable solution by the leading cardiologists across the medical fraternity. There are some cases or patients who do not necessarily need bypass surgery for the cure of their artery disease as it can be treated by medicines since the impact of the disease is mild. Whereas in other cases where the blockage is more profound the doctors often advise the patients to get a corrective heart bypass surgery done to effectively negate the blockage of the arteries.

As is the standard procedure with most the surgeries, patients are administered anesthesia that makes them unconscious so that they are completely unaware of the proceedings of the surgery. The effects of anesthesia usually last across the whole period of surgery. One standard procedure that is followed in almost all bypass surgeries is the fact that the patients undergoing the surgery are aided with a bypass machine or the bypass pump. This bypass machine or pump basically performs the virtual heart functions during the time of surgery. The pumping of blood and oxygen is done by this artificial pump during the time of surgery.

There is an alternative method too in which the artificial pump is not used. In this technique they allow the natural heart to beat in its own way, supported by the medical acumen, while the surgery is being performed.  The actual process of bypass surgery is a long and complicated one. To begin with, a 10-inch long incision is made in the central chest of the patient. After that, the breastbone is removed so that the surgeon can have a proper view of the arteries and the blockage.

After that a vein or an artery is removed from one of the parts of the patient’s body and it is made into a graft surrounding the blocked area of the heart’s artery. More often than not, the saphenous vein from the leg is chosen for this procedure of sewing it into the blockage areas. One advantage of this process is that it requires sewing of only one end of the coronary artery as the other end is already attached to the aorta.

The whole heart bypass surgery usually takes about 6 hours to complete and after the surgery, the patient is wheeled into Open Heart Surgery Hospital for follow-up on the treatment.

Causes For A Heart Bypass Surgery

If you know about a heart bypass surgery it will stand you in good stead amidst the tensions and hassles of this competitive world. These days even youngsters are having heart attacks due to excessive stress at workplaces coupled with parental and peer pressure. So if you know more about bypass surgery for heart it will be in your own benefit in the long run.

The heart is responsible for pumping blood to the different parts of the body and is one of the most important organs. However, if the valves of the heart are obstructed repair, you certainly need heart bypass surgery. If too many coronary arteries or blood vessels in a simple medical language have become blocked this kind of surgery is surely important for a patient to avoid mishaps. These blocked blood vessels may result in severe aches in the chest which can be a symbol of a cardiac problem.

When you see a heart specialist or a cardiac surgeon, give him a complete and recent update of the medications which you have been on so that the diagnosis is easy for him. You may have to undergo blood tests and ECGs. Before your heart bypass surgery, you are not supposed to have anything to eat or drink as the operation needs to be done on an empty stomach. It is quite natural for a person to feel scared and unnerved but remember that an operation is just a scientific and medical way to improve your health.

However, there are certain risk factors associated with heart bypass surgery. They include amnesia or memory failure, loss of blood and disorientation in thought processes. The kidneys or lungs may not work in a proper manner and the possibilities of a heart attack are always there.

More On A  Heart Bypass Surgery

A heart bypass surgery can take up to five to six years, if not more. The vital signs of the patient if strong after the surgical procedures are sure signs that all is fine. Before the operation, the patient is made unconscious by using anesthesia so that he is oblivious to the pain. A ten-inch dissection is made in the middle of the chest and the breastbone is taken out so that the doctor can view the heart region. Now a vein or an artery is removed from elsewhere in the body and a graft is created in the blocked area. After the graft is completed, you can attach the breastbone with the help of a wire and the incision is sewed up once more.

Conclusion On A Heart Bypass Surgery

By skimming through the content you must have got a general overview of a heart bypass surgery, after effects, and the surgical procedures. Speaking from a layman’s point of view, it is quite natural to feel more than a little unsettled after reading the surgical processes. However, remember that the heart is what makes your blood supply reach the other parts of the body and this is why the need for a heart bypass surgery in case of blocked arteries.