Heart bypass surgery is a surgical procedure used to direct blood around blocked arteries in the heart. A healthy blood vessel from your leg, arm, chest or abdomen is used to connect to the damaged arteries in your heart so the blood is routed around the blocked or diseased artery. Heart bypass surgery does not cure the underlying disease.

During heart bypass surgery a large incision is made in the chest while the blood flow is diverted through a heart-lung machine. The incision is made down the center of the chest beside the breastbone. The rib cage is then spread apart to expose the heart. Then the heart is stopped and the heart-lung machine takes over pumping the blood. The surgeon will then remove a healthy blood vessel and attach it above and below the blockage on the defective artery so that the blood flow is re-directed around the blockage.

You can expect to spend at least a day or two in intensive care after your heart bypass surgery. Provided there are no complications you can expect to be discharged in about a week. Your recovery period will take about six to twelve weeks. Most of the time you are able to return to work after six weeks.

The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you think you Heart Bypass Surgery, please consult your doctor.

• New York Times:

• HealthDay: Quality Care, Not Number of Procedures, Determines Bypass Results (April 22, 2008)

• MSNBC: Heart Stents Help Many Avoid Bypass Surgery (2005)

• HealthDay: Bypass 'Off-Pump' Boosts Women's Outcomes (2007)

• University of California Irvine: Heart Disease Prevention Program

• Archives of Internal Medicine: Alcohol Consumption and Risk for Coronary Heart Disease in Men... (2006)

• Alternative Medicine and Health: Bypass Bypass Surgery

• AHA: Minimally Invasive Heart Surgery

• Life Heart: Alternative Treatment Options

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