There are many people who experience chest pain everyday. This pain is called angina and is the result of not receiving adequate blood flow to the heart muscle (called the myocardium). Your doctor should be able to tell you if the pain you are feeling is angina, or some other ailment.
Cornary Bypass Sugery by zenhook
The heart muscle needs blood to supply it with oxygen, which it uses to produce energy. When the heart is unable to get the blood that it needs, the oxygen decreases in the muscle tissue and the production of energy goes down. Usually, this is not a decrease that would cause the heart to stop, but instead manifests itself in the form of pain. Again, this is called angina.
When a patient has angina, a doctor will consider doing coronary bypass surgery. This surgery is designed to help the patient to receive a better supply to his or her heart with the blood it needs to produce energy. This energy is needed to ensure the heart continues to beat so that it supplies the rest of the body with blood. The use of blood by the rest of the body is the same as the heart: energy production. See Wikipedia’s entry on the electron transport chain for more information about this process.
Heart disease is one of the most prolific problems in the world and the leading cause of death in a lot of countries. Angina that is caused by decreased blood flow is a precursor to a heart attack, or complete blockage. If complete blockage of the blood flow takes place, the heart will go into ischemia (lack of oxygen) and the muscle tissue will die. Dead heart muscle tissue cannot beat and therefore cannot transport blood. Death is the result of such damage.
Before this heart attack takes place, a lot of doctors will suggest the patient have coronary
bypass surgery (see the American Heart Associations Coronary Bypass Surgery Page here). The coronary blood flow is the blood flow of the heart. The bypass refers to the surgeons “bypassing” the problem in the current artery. This problem is a build up of plaque, which prevents smooth flow. This plaque is usually the result of years of bad diet or bad habits, such as smoking. The doctor can bypass these problem areas with other, less-clogged vessels.
This will allow the blood to flow more freely and supply the heart with oxygenated blood,
Coronary Artery Bypass by intensive care
which in turn allow the heart to do the same to all the other areas of the body. If you have been selected, you can look over this sample schedule for the surgery including pre- and post-op procedures.
If you have heard people say they had a single, double or triple bypass, they are referring to the number of vessels that were bypassed. If a person had a single bypass, only one coronary artery was bypassed; if they had double bypass, two coronary arteries were bypassed, etc.
If your doctor has recommended that you receive coronary bypass surgery, you should seriously consider having the procedure. Of course, only your doctor can best diagnose and treat your symptoms, but understanding the basic physiology of what the problem is can really help you to make an educated decision.
If your heart does not get the blood it needs, it will die. No one can live without their heart. When your doctor recommends the surgery, you should take it as a procedure to save your life, not simply a way to relieve chest pains. The chest pains are simply the method by which your body is telling you there is a problem. The coronary bypass surgery actually works to solve this problem.
If you are not yet to the point you have heart problems, but instead are only doing research because of a friend or family member who has the problem, you should take the necessary steps to prevent these issues in the future in your own heart. Diet, exercise and other healthy habits go a long way to preventing the need for coronary bypass surgery. Here are some strategies to prevent heart disease!
{ Comments on this entry are closed }