Blocks in heart arteries are a very common problem in the present generation and it is going to increase with rapidly changing lifestyles in India. Blocks in the heart can be tackled in two ways either by Stenting or Bypass Surgery.

The most commonly performed adult heart surgery all over the world is coronary artery bypass surgery popularly known as bypass surgery. First bypass surgery was done in India in 1975. In the 1990s about 10000 surgeries were performed annually Now about 60000 surgeries are performed in India, annually Bypass surgery means, to overcome blocks in the blood vessels of the heart and create new pathways in the heart blood vessels so that heart gets new channels of blood supply which prevents future heart attack.

Normally there are three arteries in the heart that supply blood to the heart muscles. Over a period of time, these arteries get blocked due to different reasons. That leads to chest pain initially which is called angina and later on leads to a heart attack.

Blocks in heart arteries are a very common problem

Blocks in heart arteries are a very common problem in the present generation and it is going to increase with the rapidly changing lifestyles in India. These blocks are commonly caused by smoking, diabetes, high BP, excess cholesterol in blood, sedentary lifestyle, stress, family history of heart blocks, poor diet habits and kidney problems. Blocks in the heart can be tackled by two ways either by Stenting or Bypass Surgery. These two procedures everybody should understand because stenting seems like an easier and quicker choice as compared to bypass surgery.

Angioplasty and stenting mean, the blocks in the heart artery to some extent opened up by a small balloon and an artificial tube is inserted across the block. This is ideal in case of a sudden heart attack or a single block in the arteries. It is not suitable for people with main artery blocks and for patients with three and more blocks.

Stenting may solve the problem temporarily

Stenting may solve problems temporarily but in long term, it leads to problems. Multiple stenting is unnatural, a foreign body is inserted into the heart. These stents get blocked over a period of time especially more so in diabetics. The pattern of re-block is unpredictable, it can happen any time.

A person spends a lot of time taking care of his heart in a future life with stents. Multiple hospital admissions, re angiograms, re procedures and ultimately heart function reduces over a period of time. Many times, people are afraid of operations so they opt for stenting.

Bypass surgery is superior to stenting

Bypass surgery is the most natural way of treating this problem. In this operation patients own blood: vessels are used to bypass the blocks. This operation is a one-time treatment that clears all blocks in one go in the most natural way. Surgery generally takes 3 to 5 hours.

In this procedure, patients own arteries from the chest and veins from the legs are used to bypass the blocks. All the blocks are cleared in this operation a tone time. The patient is kept on a ventilator post-operatively and a few days in ICU. Normally total hospital package is given for 8 days by most of the hospitals.

Bypass surgery is superior to stenting as it gives a long-term benefit. It gives longer life, a better quality of life, much lesser hospital visits in future life and much lesser consumption of medication over the lifetime of the patient. Reducing the cost of treatment for a whole lifetime is important to benefit the Indian population with bypass surgery than stents.

People are worried about life risks when they think about heart surgery. It is the most commonly performed operation all over the world. This surgery is a very safe operation. The success rate is about 99 per cent.

Advances in bypass surgery

There are advances in bypass surgery. We try and do surgery on beating heart without using a heart-lung machine whenever possible. In India, most Bypass surgeries are carried out on beating hearts. Few patients operate by smaller cuts or keyhole surgery, this gives smaller cuts to patients, less pain and quick recovery of patients.

However, which technique to use for surgery, depends on the patient's problem. The surgeon performs operations keeping the safety of the patient in mind. Patients resume normal life and return to work in about one month. Self-driving re recommended after 6 weeks.

Patients may lead absolutely normal life up to 20 yrs and above after bypass surgery.