Coronary Bypass Surgery
Why might I need bypass surgery?
If you’ve been diagnosed with coronary heart disease or
angina, your doctor
might suggest a bypass operation to help improve the blood supply
to the heart muscle. This will help to relieve angina symptoms and
improve your quality of life.
What happens during bypass surgery?
The aim of coronary bypass surgery is to bypass – or
‘get around’ - the narrowed sections of
coronary arteries. The surgeon does this by
grafting a blood vessel between the aorta (the
main vessel leaving the heart) and a point along the coronary
artery, beyond the narrowed area. In most cases, at least one of
the grafts is used from an artery inside the chest called the
internal mammary artery. Blood vessels from the
legs and sometimes the arms are used for the other grafts.
Usually, the surgeon will make an incision down the middle of
the breastbone, but some operations can be performed through a
smaller wound, so the breastbone doesn’t need to be cut. This is
called minimally invasive surgery.
In most cases, a heart-lung bypass machine is
used to circulate the blood around the body while the surgeon
operates on the heart, but some surgeons carry out coronary bypass
surgery without this machine. This is called beating heart
surgery.
How successful is bypass surgery?
This operation is generally very successful.
Most people who have a bypass operation find that they get
excellent relief from their angina and their quality of life is
greatly improved. The operation does not cure the
atheroma (fatty plaques), so angina may return in
the future if the atheroma begins to build up again inside the
grafts.
What are the risks?
The risk of a serious complications or of dying following the
surgery varies from one person to another. On average one to two
people in every 100 people will either have a stroke or die in
hospital after having a bypass operation for the first time.
How long will it take me to recover?
After the operation, most people are able to get out of bed a
day or two afterwards and return home after a week. On average, it
takes most people two to three months to recover fully from the
operation, but this can vary greatly depending on your individual
condition and how old you are. Visit our
Recovery section for more information.
More information
Visit our Publications
section to order our:
Having heart surgery booklet
Cardiac rehabilitation booklet
Lifelines - heart surgery and after DVD
Cardiac surgery DVD - available in six
languages and aimed at the South Asian community.
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