Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) - NHS

A coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is a surgical procedure used to treat coronary heart disease. It diverts blood around narrowed or clogged parts of the ... Skiptomaincontent Home HealthAtoZ Backto HealthAtoZ Overview - Coronaryarterybypassgraft Contents Overview Gettingready Howit'sperformed Recovery Risks Livingwith Alternatives Acoronaryarterybypassgraft(CABG)isasurgicalprocedureusedtotreatcoronaryheartdisease.Itdivertsbloodaroundnarrowedorcloggedpartsofthemajorarteriestoimprovebloodflowandoxygensupplytotheheart. Whyit'scarriedout Likeallorgansinthebody,theheartneedsaconstantsupplyofblood.Thisissuppliedby2largebloodvesselscalledtheleftandrightcoronaryarteries.Overtime,thesearteriescanbecomenarrowedandhardenedbythebuild-upoffattydepositscalledplaques.Thisprocessisknownasatherosclerosis.Peoplewithatherosclerosisofthecoronaryarteriesaresaidtohavecoronaryheartdisease.Yourchancesofdevelopingcoronaryheartdiseaseincreasewithage.You'realsomuchmorelikelytobeaffectedif:yousmokeyou'reoverweightorobeseyouhaveahigh-fatdietCoronaryheartdiseasecancauseangina,whichischestpainthathappenswhenthesupplyofoxygen-richbloodtotheheartbecomesrestricted.Whileanginacanoftenbetreatedwithmedicine,severeanginamayrequireacoronaryarterybypassgrafttoimprovethebloodsupplytotheheart.Anotherriskassociatedwithcoronaryheartdiseaseisthepossibilityofoneoftheplaquesinthecoronaryarteryrupturing(splitting),creatingabloodclot.Ifthebloodclotblocksthebloodsupplytotheheart,itcantriggera heartattack.A coronaryarterybypassgraftmayberecommendedtoreduceyourchancesofhavingaheartattack. Theprocedure A coronaryarterybypassgraftinvolvestakingabloodvesselfromanotherpartofthebody(usuallythechest,legorarm)andattachingittothecoronaryarteryaboveandbelowthenarrowedareaorblockage.Thisnewbloodvesselisknownasagraft.Thenumberofgraftsneededwilldependonhowsevereyourcoronaryheartdiseaseisandhowmanyofthecoronarybloodvessels arenarrowed.A coronaryarterybypassgraftiscarriedoutundergeneralanaesthetic,whichmeansyou'llbeunconsciousduringtheoperation.Itusuallytakesbetween3and6hours. Recovery Mostpeoplewillneedtostayinhospitalforabout6to8daysafterhavinga coronaryarterybypassgraft.Youshouldhaveafollow-upappointment,typicallyabout6to8weeksafteryouroperation.Recoveringtakestimeandeveryonerecoversatslightlydifferentspeeds.Generally,youshouldbeabletositinachairafter1day,walkafter3days,andwalkupanddownstairsafter5or6days.Whenyougohome,you'llneedtotakethingseasyforafewweeks.Youshouldbeabletoreturntomostofyournormalactivitiesafterabout6weeks,includingworking,drivingandhavingsex.Ifyouhaveaheavymanualjob,youmayneedtostayoffworklonger.Mostpeoplemakeafullrecoverywithin12weeks. Risksofsurgery Aswithalltypesofsurgery,a coronaryarterybypassgraft carriesariskofcomplications.Theseareusuallyrelativelyminorandtreatable,suchasanirregularheartbeatorawoundinfection,butthere'salsoariskofseriouscomplications,suchasastrokeorheartattack. Aftersurgery Afterhavinga coronaryarterybypassgraft,mostpeoplewillexperienceasignificantimprovementinsymptomssuchas breathlessnessandchestpain,andtheirheartattackriskwillbelowered.Buta coronaryarterybypassgraftisn'tacureforcoronaryheartdisease.Ifyoudon'tmakelifestylechanges,suchaseatinga healthydietand exercisingregularly,yourgraftedarterieswillalsoeventuallybecomehardenedandnarrowed.Sometimes,a coronaryarterybypassgraftmayneedtoberepeatedoryoumayneedaproceduretowidenyourarteriesusingasmallballoonandatubecalledastent(coronaryangioplasty). Alternatives Acoronaryangioplastyisthemainalternativetoa coronaryarterybypassgraft.It'salessinvasiveoperationwherealong,flexible,hollowplastictubecalledacatheterisinsertedintoabloodvesselinyourarmorgroin.ThetipofthecatheterisguidedunderX-raytothearteriesthatsupplyyourheart,tothepointwherethenarrowingofthearteryhasoccurred.Aballoonattachedtothecatheteristheninflatedtowidenthearteryandasmallmetaltubecalledastentisoftenusedtohelpkeepthearteryopen.It usuallytakeslesstimetorecoverfromacoronaryangioplastythanfromacoronaryarterybypassgraft,butthere'sahigherchancethattheprocedurewillneedtoberepeated.Also,a coronaryangioplastymaynotberecommendedifmultiplecoronaryarterieshavebecomeblockedandnarrowedorthestructureofthebloodvesselsnearyourheartisabnormal. HowlongwillIhavetowaitforsurgery? Thelengthoftimeyou'llhavetowaittohave acoronaryarterybypassgraftwillvaryfromareatoarea.YourGPorcardiacsurgeonshouldbeabletotellyouwhatthewaitinglistsarelikeinyourareaoratthehospitalyouhavechosen.Ideally,youshouldbetreatedwithin3monthsofthedecisiontooperate. Video:whatisaheartbypass Thisanimationexplainsindetailhowacoronaryarterybypass,asurgicalprocedure,isperformed. Medialastreviewed:14May2020 Mediareviewdue:14May2023 Pagelastreviewed:23November2021 Nextreviewdue:23November2024 Next : Gettingready