During the surgery, caregivers will connect your heart to a bypass machine. This machine keeps your blood out of the heart during the surgery. The new graft vessel is attached above and below the blocked artery. After the graft is in place, the bypass machine will be disconnected and blood will flow through your heart. The chest is then closed using wire and staples or stitches (thread). You will also have an incision in your leg or groin area, if that was the site for the graft.

After surgery, you will be taken to the recovery room where specially trained nurses will watch you very closely. You will also have several tubes in place. All of these tubes are important to help the nurses monitor your recovery. From the recovery room, you will be transported to St. Rita’s Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) where you will stay for four to five days (if there are no complications).

Patients and their families receive individualized home-going instructions including one-on-one diet instructions from a dietician, medication education from a pharmacist and instructions from an exercise physiologist.

It is said, "A picture says a thousand words." To learn more about coronary artery bypass surgery, view our animation depicting this treatment procedure for obstructed coronary arteries.