Operation (heart)
- Article
- 2021-02-03
Heart surgeries are done to correct problems with the heart. Many heart surgeries are performed each year in the United States for various heart problems.
Heart surgery is used in both children and adults. This article discusses heart surgery for adults. For more information on pediatric cardiac surgery, visit the Health Topics articles on Congenital Heart Defects, Holes in the Heart, and Fallot's Tetralogy.
Overview
The most common form of heart surgery in adults is coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). During CABG, a healthy artery or vein from the body is connected or transplanted with a blocked coronary artery (heart).
The transplanted artery or vein bypasses (that is, goes around) the blocked portion of the coronary artery. This creates a new path for oxygenated blood to flow to the heart muscle. CABG can relieve chest pain and can lower the risk of a heart attack.
Doctors also use heart surgery to:
- Repair or replace heart valves, which control blood flow through the heart
- Repair abnormal or damaged structures in the heart
- Implant medical devices that help control heart rate or support heart function and blood flow
- Replace a damaged heart with a healthy heart from a donor
Traditional heart surgery, often called open heart surgery, is done by opening the chest wall to operate on the heart. The surgeon cuts through the patient's sternum (or just the top part of it) to open the chest.
Once the heart is exposed, the patient is connected to a heart-lung bypass machine. The machine takes over the pumping action of the heart and carries the blood away from the heart. This allows the surgeon to operate on a heart that is not beating and has no blood flowing through it.
Another type of heart surgery is called off-pump or beating heart surgery. It's like traditional open heart surgery because the sternum is opened to access the heart. However, the heart is not stopped and a heart-lung bypass machine is not used. Heart surgery without a pump is limited to CABG.
Surgeons can now make small incisions (cuts) between the ribs to perform some types of heart surgery. The sternum does not open to reach the heart. This is called minimally invasive heart surgery. This type of heart surgery may or may not use a heart-lung bypass machine.
Newer cardiac surgery methods (such as off-pump and minimally invasive methods) can reduce risks and speed recovery time. Studies are underway to compare these types of heart surgery with traditional open heart surgery.
The results of these studies will help doctors determine the best surgery for each patient.
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