But each year, nearly 600,000 Americans confront the need for coronary artery bypass surgery. In bypass surgery, a surgeon uses an artery from the arm or a vein from the leg and grafts it into the heart to reroute blood flow around a clogged artery. Surgeons can perform bypasses on multiple arteries, depending on the number of blockages. Although heart bypass surgery has become more common, it's still a serious procedure. Great care is taken to be sure that patients receive specialized care following the operation to help them fully recover and get back up to full speed.
Surgeons perform bypass surgery to treat severe blockages in the coronary arteries.
Bypass surgery may be done to restore blood flow to the heart muscle, stop chest pain, and reduce the risk of heart attack. First, the surgeon must divide the breastbone to expose the heart. To complete the bypass, a segment of a vein in the leg or arm is taken and used to build a detour around the blockage. One end of the vein is sewn into the aorta, and the other end is sewn into the coronary artery below the blockage. The vein can be spared because there are many others that can perfom the same function.