Coronary artery bypass graft surgery is a surgical procedure in which one or more blocked coronary arteries are bypassed by a blood vessel graft to restore normal blood flow to the heart. These grafts usually come from the patient's own arteries and veins located in the leg, arm, or chest.

Purpose

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (also called coronary artery bypass surgery [CABG] and bypass operation) is performed to restore blood flow to the heart. This relieves chest pain and ischemia, improves the patient's quality of life, and, in some cases, prolongs the patient's life. The goals of the procedure are to relieve symptoms of coronary artery disease, enable the patient to resume a normal lifestyle, and to lower the risk of a heart attack or other heart problems.

Appropriate candidates for coronary artery bypass graft surgery include patients who:

• Have blockages in at least two to three major coronary arteries, especially if the blockages are in arteries that feed the heart's left ventricle or in the left anterior descending artery
  
• Have angina so severe that even mild exertion causes chest pain
  
• Have poor left ventricular function
  
• Cannot tolerate percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty and do not