What is heart bypass surgery and how much do they live after it?

Bypass surgery is a heart operation performed in coronary disease. Often, many ask the question - how does shunting affect the work of the heart, and how many live after heart bypass surgery. Coronary heart disease is characterized by a narrowing of the vessels that supply the heart muscle to the myocardium with blood. Because of this narrowing, the heart does not receive enough blood, the myocardium becomes weak and gradually damaged. A person experiences some pain in the heart.

Cardiac bypass surgery - indications for operation

Coronary artery bypass grafting is performed in patients who suffer from the formation of plaques in arterial vessels. Such plaques interfere with normal blood flow, as a result of which the myocardium of the heart remains without proper blood supply. A similar problem can lead to the necrosis of some areas, in other words - to myocardial infarction.

How is the operation performed?

Shunting is a rather complicated operation that involves the use of grafts to expand the blood vessels of the heart and restore normal blood circulation. That's why many patients are afraid to do it. Nevertheless, it is the coronary bypass of the heart that allows a person to live for many more years.

For the expansion of vessels, a special shunt is used, which is taken from the saphenous vein in the region of the thigh or thoracic artery from the forearm zone. The second option is the most successful, as the shunts from the artery are clogged much less often, and they last longer. In most cases, a small blockage of shunts begins only after ten years, and only in 35% of patients.

Who is handled after a shunting operation?

You can register a disability group and receive appropriate assistance from the state by going through a medical commission. Shunting can be an indication for getting a disability, however, for this you must first get a referral to the commission from the doctor.

If the medical commission considers the patient incapacitated, then he will be able to receive benefits. More often than not, people with heart disease are considered disabled for only one year due to the rehabilitation period after the operation. In the future, his disability will need to be constantly confirmed.

As a rule, only 10% of all patients determine the invalid group after the bypass surgery. The first group of disability can be obtained by patients experiencing frequent attacks of angina pectoris, congestive and functional heart failure. The second group of disability is given in the presence of angina attacks, which torment the patient every day. Also, the reason may be a lack of 1-2 functional class.
How many live after coronary artery bypass grafts?

After the operation on the vessels, people for many years do not experience any problems with the heart. Difficulties can arise if the shunt is clogged. On average, after the transferred measures a person can live without any difficulties with the heart for another twenty years.

However, such indicators are only approximate. Each person's life expectancy in the postoperative period depends on the individual characteristics of the organism. First, the blockage of shunts depends on the specific characteristics of the circulatory system, namely, on the coagulability of blood, the state of the vessels, the presence of cholesterol plaques, thrombi, etc. Secondly, the presence of other pathologies in the body is of great importance.

Much depends on the quality of the operation performed. Complications may occur within one year after the operation of the vessels. In operations of this kind, problems arise in about a third of cases. This figure is considered low for such complex operations. In the first year, it is necessary to control the process of blood supply, in order to exclude the possibility of any deviations.

For the most part, the life expectancy after surgery depends on the patient himself. It is important in the post-operation period to give up harmful habits and observe a special diet. In addition, each patient in his own way suffers a period of rehabilitation, which also affects the duration of life.

Diet after heart surgery

Photo: vegetables

Each patient after a shunt must always strictly follow the diet.

1. Firstly, it is strictly forbidden to eat fatty foods, especially fried.
2. Secondly, you need to give up any fats of animal origin and margarine. Sunflower oil should be replaced with olive oil. Meat and poultry are preferable to eat cooked.
3. Important points in the postoperative diet is the consumption of a large number of fruits and vegetables. It is advisable to eat at least 300 grams of greens a day. It will be very useful to drink orange juice daily, and at least eat a glass of blackberries. This will help not only improve your condition, but also generally strengthen the body's immune defenses and increase tone.
4. It is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol and carbonated drinks after the operation. Even for an absolutely healthy organism, these drinks are very harmful. After shunting, they can cause the most unpleasant consequences.

Feedback on the operation

Review No. 1

I had a heart operation seven years ago. After that, the question to the doctor is how much they live after coronary artery bypass grafts. I did not get an exact answer.

In general, put two shunts, the operation was fairly easy. True, at first there were minor pains in the sternum, but soon everything went away. Now I feel fine, pain in my heart, as before the operation is not, I feel perfectly healthy. After the operation, I had to stop smoking cigarettes and eliminate fatty foods.

Igor, 56 years - Moscow

After the operation, the coronary bypass of the heart vessels first felt a strong weakness. For about a month I had to force myself to walk. At night it was hard to breathe, sometimes even sleeping in a semi-sitting position. But the pain in my chest completely disappeared.

Alexandra, 49 years - Spb