Coronary bypass surgery

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Definition

By Mayo Clinic staff

Coronary bypass surgery is a procedure to allow blood to flow to your heart muscle despite blocked arteries. Coronary bypass surgery uses a healthy blood vessel taken from your leg, arm, chest or abdomen and connects it to the other arteries in your heart so that blood is bypassed around the diseased or blocked area. After a coronary bypass surgery, normal blood flow is restored. Coronary bypass surgery is just one option to treat heart disease.

Just like all the other organs in your body, your heart needs blood and oxygen to do its job. Coronary arteries snake across the surface of your heart, delivering a constant supply of blood and oxygen to the heart muscle. When one or more of these arteries become narrowed or blocked, blood and oxygen are reduced and heart muscle is damaged. Coronary bypass surgery can minimize this damage.

MY00087

July 1, 2008

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