What Is It?
Cardiac surgery is any operation on the heart. The common operations in adults are coronary artery bypass grafting or valve operations, either repair or replacement. There are other less common cardiac surgical procedures.
How Is It Done?
Usually it requires opening the chest through the sternum (breast bone) to access the heart. The surgeon can then either attach grafts to take blood around narrowed coronary (heart) arteries, which is called coronary artery bypass grafting, or enter the heart to operate on the heart valves, to either repair or replace them.
Why Is It Done?
It is done to fix cardiac problems and reduce symptoms and prolong life.
Cardiac surgery often offers the chance to treat serious and life threatening heart disease. It can lead to significant improvement in patients quality of life and in a number of cases is life prolonging.