Bryanna Rucinski

Dietetic Intern

Coronary Bypass Surgery

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of heart disease that affects

over 7 million Americans. It is the number one killer for both men and women in the United

States. It is caused by the narrowing of arteries that nourish the heart. When arteries leading

to the heart get narrowed, not enough oxygen and blood is able to feed into the muscle. This

could potentially lead to a heart attack if the blood supply is cut off completely. Risk factors for

this disease are high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, physical

inactivity, and poor diet choices. These risk facts often thicken the walls of the arteries and

result in atherosclerosis. If there is too much cholesterol and fat in the blood, it can build up on

the walls resulting in the narrowing of the arteries. There are early signs of coronary heart

disease such as chest pain, shortness of breath, heaviness, tightness, or squeezing in a persons

chest, however many people do not have any of these signs. There are some tests that

determine the severity of the coronary heart disease. Electrocardiogram, stress test, and

angiography are all possible test that can be completed to determine coronary heart disease.

There are also some surgeries that can be recommended to help with coronary heart disease.

The main one that will be discussed is the coronary bypass surgery.

Over time, plaque can build up on the walls of arteries from cholesterol, fat, and other

substance. This plaque can then break and forms a blood clot which narrows the arteries.

People with narrowed arteries are at a huge risk of having a heart attack and dying. The

coronary bypass surgery is a procedure that is done by rechanneling the arteries to the heart.

According to the American Heart Association, the doctor will take a blood vessel from the chest,
arm or leg. One end of the blood vessel will be attached to the aorta, which is a main artery

that is attached to the heart, and the other end of the vessel is attached to below the blocked

artery. This creates the blood flow to bypass the blockage or narrowing, and can easily flow

into the heart. There are different types of coronary bypass surgeries based on the severity of

the blockages/narrowings. The different types are single, double, triple, and quadruple. Each

type identifies how many arteries the doctor will be bypassing due to the blockages. The more

bypasses there are, the lengthier and complex the surgery is.

During the surgery the patient is asleep, and the surgery can take between three and six

hours depending on the number of bypasses. The doctor will first make an incision in the chest

and spread the rib cage while the patient is hooked up to a heart-lung machine to continue the

circulation of the blood while being operated on. They then attach the new artery and check

the function of the heart. Patient is then stitched back up and taken to the intensive care unit

for a few days to be closely monitored to make sure no problems occurred due to the surgery.

The coronary bypass surgery is risky and has complications that include excessive bleeding,

chest pain, blood clots, confusion, short term memory lost, and infections. Often times there

will be a tube in the patients mouth to help patient breathe, making it uncomfortable for the

patient. Once vital signs are relatively stable, often the patient is then moved to a less intensive

unit of the hospital. Average stay at the hospital is at least seven days.

After being sent home, recovery may take up to six to twelve weeks to properly heal.

During this time physical activity, heavy exertion, and heavy lifting prohibited. It is important

for the patient to get plenty of rest, take proper care of the chest incision wound to avoid

infections, and to take things easy. If there is every pain, fever, rapid heartbeats or redness
around the incision it is important for the patient to call the doctor as soon as possible. It is a

risky surgery but can have great impacts on peoples lives. The surgery can fix the problem for

a short period of time but a change in lifestyle is often required to stay healthy.
 Works Cited

What Is Coronary Bypass Surgery? American Heart Association - Building healthier lives, free of

cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/. Accessed February 1, 2017

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft - CABG. MedlinePlus. Published Novemeber 16, 2016

https://medlineplus.gov/coronaryarterybypasssurgery.html