Bypass surgery is generally performed to treat heart disease due to narrowing of the arteries of the heart. If done correctly and the patient can make a full recovery, bypass surgery can extend the patient's life to 10 years or more. However, this procedure can also come with some risks and complications.
Bypass surgery or more precisely heart bypass surgery is one of the most common types of heart surgery performed. This operation is performed by grafting (graft) blood vessels from other parts of the body, to then be affixed and sewn to the heart muscle which is damaged due to blockage of the heart blood vessels.
Graft This new blood vessel will become a channel to drain blood to areas of the heart that are experiencing a lack of blood supply.
Purpose of Bypass Operation
The arteries that supply blood to the heart can become narrowed and hardened due to plaque buildup on the artery walls. This process of plaque buildup on the artery walls is known as atherosclerosis.
This condition can cause clogged blood vessels. If the blockage is large enough to significantly reduce blood flow to the heart, coronary heart disease can occur.
Untreated coronary heart disease can lead to a heart attack. This is because the formation of plaque on the walls of the coronary arteries causes the flow of blood and oxygen not to reach the heart muscle, so that the heart muscle is damaged and does not function properly.
People with obesity or unhealthy lifestyles, such as smoking, rarely exercising, and eating lots of fatty foods (high cholesterol), are usually at higher risk of developing coronary heart disease.
The duration of heart bypass surgery and its effectiveness
Process bypass operation or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) which takes approximately 3-6 hours aims to restore blood flow and oxygen to the heart.
In addition to helping reduce the risk of heart attack and relieve symptoms of chest pain (angina), bypass surgery can also increase the life expectancy of heart disease patients by up to 10 years. However, with the condition, after undergoing bypass surgery, the patient needs to lead a healthy lifestyle and maintain a healthy heart.
Bypass surgery will generally be recommended by doctors if the use of drugs, dietary changes, and exercise do not improve the patient's heart condition.
Bypass Operation Risk
Just like any other medical procedure, bypass surgery also has risks. Some of the risks that may occur in patients undergoing this surgery are:
- Painful.
- Side effects due to anesthesia, such as nausea, headache, and breathing problems.
- Fever.
- Bleeding or infection at the surgical incision.
- Heart problems, such as heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias) and repeated heart attacks.
- Organ damage, such as kidney failure and lung damage.
- strokes.
In some cases, especially in heart disease or severe heart attack accompanied by various complications, bypass surgery can even cause death.
The success rate of bypass surgery and the risk of complications are also influenced by the presence or absence of other diseases suffered by the patient, such as diabetes, kidney disease, peripheral arterial disease, and lung disorders.
Therefore, the patient needs to clearly inform the doctor about his personal medical history, family medical history, and medications he is currently taking, before bypass surgery is performed. This is so that the risk of complications that arise can be minimized.
To determine whether your heart disease needs to be treated with bypass surgery and to determine if this procedure is safe for you, it is necessary to have an examination by a cardiologist first.
