Health Tip: What Happens During Coronary Bypass Surgery?

(HealthDay News) -- When arteries become blocked by fat, cholesterol and other substances, blood flow to the heart is blocked.

Coronary bypass surgery sidesteps the blockage from these substances -- collectively called plaque -- and restores blood flow to lessen a person's risk of heart attack.

Here's are two possible ways to accomplish a coronary bypass, courtesy of the American Heart Association:

• An artery is detached from the chest wall and the loose end attached to the coronary artery below the blockage.
• A section of a long vein in the leg is removed and sewn (grafted) onto the large vessel that leaves the heart called the aorta. The other end is attached to the coronary artery below the blockage.

Either of these methods will allow blood to follow a new path, bypass the clogged portion of an artery, and restore a free flow to the heart.

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