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Why is coronary artery bypass surgery hailed as the hope for heart disease patients?
Coronary artery bypass graft surgery, often referred to as CABG (pronounced "cabbage"), is a surgical procedure used to treat coronary artery disease (CAD). This disease is caused by the buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries of the heart, which can lead to angina and other heart problems. The main purpose of this surgery is to bypass narrowed heart arteries and restore blood supply to the heart by using blood vessels taken from other parts of the body, such as the legs or chest, thereby improving the patient's quality of life and survival expectations.
Coronary artery bypass surgery not only relieves chest pain caused by coronary artery disease but also slows the progression of the disease.
This surgery was first performed in the 1960s and quickly became a mainstay of treatment. Although the risks of surgery include bleeding, heart problems such as heart attack, stroke, infection and kidney damage, CABG is widely regarded as the hope for heart disease patients. Through this surgery, many patients have successfully returned to healthy lives.
Coronary artery disease and its effects
Coronary artery disease is the leading cause of heart attacks. As fatty plaque builds up in the heart's arteries, the arteries become increasingly narrow and may eventually cut off blood flow to the heart. Symptoms of the disease include angina during exercise and chest pain even at rest. If blood flow to the heart is not restored within a few hours, the damaged area of the heart may die and scar tissue may form.
Detection methods for coronary artery disease include non-invasive methods such as electrocardiogram (ECG) and coronary angiography.
The most accurate way to detect CAD is through coronary angiography, which provides detailed information about the arteries and helps doctors determine the severity of the disease. After the diagnosis is made, the doctor will decide whether to perform CABG surgery based on the complexity of the condition and the status of the heart function.
Indications and types of CABG
For stable patients, medications are usually used to treat angina pectoris first. If the patient's heart function is poor or there is severe plaque accumulation, CABG surgery will be considered. Patients with acute coronary syndrome often require faster treatment to restore blood flow to the heart, making CABG the emergency surgery of choice.
There are usually two main methods of CABG surgery, one is to use a heart-lung bypass machine, and the other is to perform bypass surgery while the heart is beating.
There are two types of surgeries: "bypass" and "bypass without stopping". The former is traditional CABG, which first uses a cardiopulmonary bypass machine to control circulation, while the latter keeps the heart in a beating state for bypass, which can reduce the risk of some complications.
Postoperative care and recovery
After the surgery is completed, the patient is usually transferred to the intensive care unit and monitored for several hours to make sure no complications have occurred. As they recover from surgery, patients sometimes experience temporary insomnia, loss of appetite, and memory problems, but these usually improve within a few weeks.
Patients who undergo coronary artery bypass surgery can achieve significant improvement in quality of life and prolonged survival, making the surgery a therapeutic hope for patients with heart disease.
From pain relief to lifestyle improvements, CABG provides a turnaround, and many patients are able to return to their normal lives after undergoing this procedure. But in this process, lifestyle changes and subsequent drug management are also crucial. For the future, such treatments will continue to develop in the field of heart disease, bringing hope and resilience to more patients. In the future medical process, what other innovations in treatment strategies will emerge?
