Coronary Artery Bypass Graft

Advanced Surgery for Coronary Artery Disease

You don’t have to travel far for world-class heart care. Our expertise in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery means you can get the advanced treatment you need at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. Highly experienced heart surgeons oversee a dedicated team of cardiac nurses and intensivists who deliver compassionate, personalized care.
 

What Is a Heart Bypass Operation?

A heart bypass operation, also called coronary artery bypass grafting or coronary revascularization, is surgery to create a new pathway for blood to reach your heart. Your surgeon takes blood vessels from another part of your body and moves them to your heart, using them to bypass blocked arteries. We may perform CABG if your coronary arteries are blocked or narrowed due to coronary heart disease. CABG eases symptoms of coronary heart disease such as chest pain and shortness of breath. It also reduces your risk of a heart attack and can help you live longer.
 

Why Might I Need CABG?

CABG is for people with severely blocked arteries who are not candidates for a less invasive treatment, such as cardiac catheterization[EQ1] . We may recommend CABG if you have:

• Had a heart attack or cardiac arrest
• Multiple blocked coronary arteries
• Persistent chest pain due to coronary artery disease
• Severe heart failure

What to Expect During CABG

A heart surgeon performs CABG in an operating room. Your care team also includes a cardiac nurse and anesthesiologist.
 
During CABG, your surgeon:

• Makes an incision in your chest and opens your breastbone
• Connects you to a heart-lung bypass machine to take over your heart and lung function during surgery
• Gives you medicine so your heart stops beating temporarily
• Removes one or more blood vessels from another part of your body
• Sews the blood vessels (grafts) above and below the blocked portion of your coronary artery
• Restarts your heart, removes the bypass machine and closes the incisions

Heart Bypass Surgery Recovery

After CABG, you recover in our cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) for one to two days. You receive 24/7 care from cardiac intensivists with training in critical care, cardiac anesthesia and echocardiography, so they’re prepared to handle any heart-related issue.
 
You stay in the hospital for about a week. Complete recovery after CABG can take six to 12 weeks. During recovery, you have unlimited access to our care team for questions about medication, side effects, pain management and other concerns. We also connect you to cardiac rehabilitation programs to improve heart function, strength and endurance after surgery.
 
Our educational cardiac surgery videos can provide more information about what to expect before, during and after your procedure.