Restore Your Heart’s Health With Bypass Surgery

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), also called bypass surgery or heart bypass surgery, restores blood flow to your heart muscle. An incision is made through the breast bone to provide our surgeons with the best access to bypass as many blocked arteries as necessary. A cardiopulmonary bypass machine, often referred to as a heart lung machine, is used to allow the heart to be stopped temporarily while the bypasses are being constructed. The heart team takes a healthy blood vessel from another part of your body — usually the leg, chest wall or arm — and connects it below the blockage in the artery. Afterward, blood bypasses (goes around) the clogged artery to reach your heart muscle. Once completed the heart starts beating and you come off the heart lung machine.

Some people need one or more arteries bypassed to restore blood flow. Depending how many arteries are bypassed, the surgeon may refer to your surgery as a single, double or triple bypass.

Heart bypass surgery helps if your heart isn’t pumping as well as it should due to a blockage in one or more arteries. It is a useful treatment for coronary artery disease (CAD), the most common type of heart disease. With CAD, heart arteries can narrow and harden. Less blood — and the oxygen it carries — reaches the heart, increasing your risk of having a heart attack.

Without treatment, heart valve problems can cause fatigue, breathlessness and blood clotting problems. Valve conditions increase your risk of developing heart failure or arrhythmia (irregular heart beat).

Before your surgery at MoBap, our highly specialized team of surgeons and cardiologists review your case. Together in a collaborative environment, we evaluate your needs and other health considerations to develop an individualized treatment plan.

During a CABG procedure, you have surgery in two areas of your body. Your surgeon takes a section of blood vessel from your leg, arm or chest wall and attaches it to the blocked coronary artery.

Unless it is an emergency, you can usually schedule the surgery for a time that is convenient for you. The surgery usually takes three to four hours. You’ll be asleep the whole time under general anesthesia.

As a result of that high level of skill, depending on what is most appropriate for your condition, the cardiac surgeon may perform your bypass surgery using one of two methods:

• On-pump CABG: A heart-lung machine keeps your blood flowing and lungs working during your surgery.
• Off-pump CABG: The doctor uses special tools to stabilize the small part of the heart where our team is perfoming surgery. Your heart continues to beat throughout the procedure without using a heart-lung machine.

During the procedure, the surgeon:

1. Makes an incision down the middle of your chest and opens your breastbone (sternum)
2. Removes a healthy blood vessel (the graft) from your leg, chest or arm and closes that incision
3. Attaches one end of the healthy blood vessel graft to your aorta (the heart’s largest artery)
4. Attaches the other end of the healthy blood vessel to your heart, near the blocked artery, to make a new path for blood to flow
5. Confirms blood is flowing as it should through the healthy blood vessel to your heart muscle
6. Wires your sternum bone back together and closes your incision

Research has shown that a CABG heart bypass procedure improves long-term survival for people with coronary artery disease (CAD).

More than 200,000 CABG procedures are performed each year in the United States making it the most common type of heart surgery. CABG procedures are one of the most common types of heart surgery. A bypass procedure is safe and effective. It can relieve coronary artery disease for years.

Our team of doctors will thoroughly examine you and order diagnostic tests to determine if CABG is right for you. This testing also tells your heart team if you are healthy enough for an open-heart procedure or if another option would be more appropriate for your condition. Our doctors may request additional tests including:

• Blood and urine tests: Laboratory tests can check for signs of infection or excesses of protein or cholesterol in your blood.
• Chest X-ray: An X-ray shows pictures of structures in your chest to help our doctors detect signs of infection or structural issues.
• Echocardiography (echo): An echo test is an ultrasound of your heart in motion that can show blockages or structural problems with your heart.
• Electrocardiogram (EKG): Electrodes are attached to your skin to measure your heart’s rhythm and activity. The test can detect abnormal rhythms or heart rate problems.

After surgery, you are transferred to the specialized heart recovery unit (Cardiac ICU). Our dedicated heart nursing staff cares for you 24 hours a day and can answer any questions you and your family have. As you recover, you are moved to the heart floor. Most people go home three to five days after a heart bypass procedure.

When you go home, you will need to limit your activity for about six weeks, or until your breastbone heals. Our team will give you tips to minimize your discomfort during this process.

You may have some swelling in your leg if the doctor removed a leg vein to use for the graft. While this swelling is uncomfortable, it will go away as your leg heals. We’ll see you again a few weeks after surgery to follow up on your recovery.

Bypass surgery often resolves the blood flow issues in your heart problem. You have the highest likelihood of staying well if you follow a healthy lifestyle after surgery.

Your heart team will work with you to help you improve the chances of keeping your blood vessels clear. Medications and lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of blockages.

Our heart team will refer you to a 12-week cardiac rehabilitation program after a CABG procedure. Cardiac rehab provides a supervised program of exercise to rebuild your heart’s strength. Our skilled exercise physiologists and nurses work with you to help you regain strength and stamina so you can get back to an active life.

When you have CABG surgery at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, a cardiac surgeon or cardiothoracic surgeon performs the open-heart procedure.

To schedule an appointment with a MoBap heart specialist, call 314-860-7351 or fill out a contact form.

Meet our team of surgeons.