Why it's done

Coronary bypass surgery is one treatment option if you have a blocked artery to your heart.

You and your doctor might consider it if:

• You have severe chest pain caused by narrowing of several arteries that supply your heart muscle, leaving the muscle short of blood during even light exercise or at rest.
• You have more than one diseased coronary artery, and the heart's main pumping chamber — the left ventricle — isn't functioning well.
• Your left main coronary artery is severely narrowed or blocked. This artery supplies most of the blood to the left ventricle.
• You have an artery blockage that can't be treated with a procedure that involves temporarily inserting and inflating a tiny balloon to widen the artery (angioplasty).
• You've had a previous angioplasty or placement of a small wire mesh tube (stent) to hold the artery open that hasn't been successful. Or you've had a stent placement, but the artery has narrowed again.

Coronary bypass surgery might also be performed in emergency situations, such as a heart attack, if you're not responding to other treatments.

Even with coronary bypass surgery, you'll need to make lifestyle changes after surgery. Medications are prescribed routinely after coronary bypass surgery to lower your blood cholesterol, reduce the risk of developing a blood clot and help your heart work as well as possible.