Cardiac surgery

Cardiac surgery treats diseases and disorders of the heart and its major blood vessels through operations. It includes procedures performed on the heart’s chambers, valves, coronary arteries, and aorta.

Coronary artery bypass surgery: An operation that routes blood around narrowed or blocked coronary arteries using grafts. It restores blood flow to heart muscle when coronary artery disease is severe.
Cardiopulmonary bypass: A technique that diverts blood through a machine that adds oxygen and removes carbon dioxide during surgery. It temporarily supports circulation while surgeons operate on a still or opened heart.
Heart: A muscular organ that pumps blood through the pulmonary and systemic circulations. Its chambers and valves are the structures most directly treated in cardiac operations.
Interventional cardiology: A cardiology specialty that treats heart conditions with catheter-based procedures, often through blood vessels. It can treat some coronary and valve problems without open surgery.
Heart valve repair: Surgical reconstruction of a diseased heart valve to improve its function while preserving native tissue. Repair can correct valve disease without replacing the patient’s own valve.
Off-pump coronary artery bypass: Coronary bypass surgery performed on a beating heart without a heart-lung machine. It contrasts with bypass procedures that use cardiopulmonary bypass.
Coronary artery disease: Narrowing or blockage of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. It is a major reason patients undergo coronary bypass surgery.
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement: A procedure that implants a replacement aortic valve using a catheter, usually through an artery. It offers an alternative to open surgical aortic valve replacement for selected patients.
Heart valve replacement: An operation that replaces a diseased heart valve with a mechanical or biological prosthesis. Replacement is used when a valve cannot be repaired effectively.
Median sternotomy: A surgical incision through the breastbone that provides access to the heart and great vessels. It remains a standard route for many open cardiac operations.

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