Question 1

will smoking after heart bypass harm me?

Accepted Answer

Yes knock it off: If the scar on the front of your chest doesnt convince you to stop smoking nothing will. Smoking will continue to damage your heart arteries and will also prematurely cause your grafts to fail. 
Never mind the ongoing risk of lung cancer, stroke, etc.

Question 2

how many arteries can be treated with a heart bypass?

Accepted Answer

Can vs. Should: Since coronary artery disease can affect all the major coronary arteries, the presence of significant blockage may occur in many vessels & branches.  So the answer is dependent on the skill & courage of the operators, whether it be angioplasties & stents, or coronary artery bypass by arterial or venous grafts.  Most patients get less than 6, but i've had colleagues that did up to 15 (in 1 patient).

Question 3

do heart bypass surgeries require cracking the chest open?

Accepted Answer

Often: I am assuming you mean opening the breast bone.  The standard way is to go thru the breast bone to get to the heart.  There are alternative approaches thru incisions between the ribs.  This can involve the davinci robot or not.  Typically we can't reach all surfaces to the heart thru these small incision approaches so most patients are not candidates.

Question 4

what are the non-surgical alternatives to an open-heart bypass?

Accepted Answer

Several: Aortocoronary bypass is performed to allow blood to get to the heart around coronary blockages and involves using either venous or arterial  conduits taken from another part of the body.  Other options include treatment with medicines and adjustment of lifestyle, angioplasty(dilating lesion with balloon tipped catheter), atherectomy, or placement of stent.

Question 5

need docs answers! what guarantee does a heart bypass procedure give to a stricken heart patient?

Accepted Answer

The: Guarantee that if the pipes are not cleaned, the stricken heart could get much worse, and even still stop working!

Question 6

my 70y/0 had a heart bypass 10 yrs ago. lately she's able to feel her heart beat irregularly. is that bad? her bp is b/w 180 to 200. should i be worry

Accepted Answer

Yes, concerning: She is susceptible to serious arrhythmia and needs an urgent evaluation.  Furthermore, there are only very few reasons for her target blood pressure to be that high.  Her heart is most certainly working with too great an effort and she is at risk of serious consequence.  Sorry to be an alarmist, but please set up an urgent evaluation today.

Question 7

what are the worst consequences of heart bypass?

Accepted Answer

Death, Heart Failure: The worst consequence of all would be death, but others would include heart failure (a weak heart), infection (mediastinitis), pericardial effusion (fluid around the heart), stroke, heart attack and others. Fortunately, in good hands these are pretty rare.

Question 8

can you describe a heart bypass operation?

Accepted Answer

See below: Patients are placed on artificial life support while the heart is stopped with a high dose of potassium, then the veins and arteries are harvest from the legs and mammary artery and bypassed over the blocked arteries, the heart is restarted and then the chest is closed. That simple. Not really, but mortality at major centers is very low, less than 5%. Good luck.

Question 9

why do some patients undergo heart bypass?

Accepted Answer

Blocked arteries: They have blockages in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. A vein is taken from the leg and used to bypass the blockage and prevent pain or a heart attack.

Question 10

what is eecp (called as natural heart bypass)?

Accepted Answer

An angina treatment: Enhanced external counterpulsation (eecp) is a procedure that forces more blood to flow into the coronary arteries (which supply blood to heart muscle). A person uses the eecp machine 1 hour, 5 days a week, for 7 weeks. The treatments are intended to cause long-term improvements in blood flow to the heart muscle, thus decreasing angina (chest pain) symptoms. Only certain patients qualify for eecp.

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Doctor answers about:

Bodybuilding with heart bypass

A member asked:

Will smoking after heart bypass harm me?

A member asked:

How many arteries can be treated with a heart bypass?

A member asked:

Do heart bypass surgeries require cracking the chest open?

A member asked:

What are the non-surgical alternatives to an open-heart bypass?

A member asked:

Need docs answers! what guarantee does a heart bypass procedure give to a stricken heart patient?

A member asked:

My 70y/0 had a heart bypass 10 yrs ago. lately she's able to feel her heart beat irregularly. is that bad? her bp is b/w 180 to 200. should i be worry

A member asked:

What are the worst consequences of heart bypass?

A member asked:

Can you describe a heart bypass operation?

A member asked:

Why do some patients undergo heart bypass?

A member asked:

What is eecp (called as natural heart bypass)?

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