Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), also known as heart bypass surgery, is an open heart surgery. It is also a known treatment procedure for coronary artery disease (CAD). In this procedure, the surgeon removes a vein from the leg and/or an artery from the non-dominant arm and/or an artery from within the chest and sews it beyond the blockage so that blood can flow through the newly grafted vessel, bypassing the blocked coronary artery.
Coronary artery blockages result in chest discomfort (called angina pectoris), often described as ‘tight’ sometimes involving the jaw, left shoulder or arm. During a ‘heart attack’ you may even be breathless, sweaty with cold and clammy peripheries. Nevertheless some patients (especially diabetics) may have absolutely no ‘pain’. When heart muscles die and become scarred, the heart subsequently fails as an efficient pump.
You will not be allowed to consume any food or drink at least six hours before the operation.
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