If you’ve had a heart attack, you may have already undergone certain steps to help you survive it and diagnose your symptoms. For example, many people who have a heart attack receive thrombolytic therapy. This is a procedure that involves injecting a thrombolytic agent to restore blood flow to the coronary arteries. For maximum effectiveness, this procedure should be performed within 30 minutes of the patient arriving at the hospital. If this treatment is not given immediately after a heart attack, many people will later need coronary angioplasty or coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) to improve blood supply to the heart muscle.
View diagram of coronary arteries(link opens in new window).
See Diagnostic Tests and Procedures to understand the tests needed to determine whether you’ve had a heart attack, the extent of the damage done, and the extent of coronary artery disease (CAD).
Heart procedures and surgeries
coronary angioplasty
Also called percutaneous coronary intervention [PCI]balloon angioplasty and coronary balloon dilation.
Watch angioplasty animation.
Contents of the procedure
A special tube with a deflated balloon is passed into the coronary artery. The balloon is inflated to widen the blocked area where blood flow to the heart muscle is reduced or blocked. It is often combined with the implantation of a stent to keep the artery open and reduce the chance of another blockage. It is considered less invasive because no incisions are made in the body. This procedure can take from 30 minutes to several hours. You may need to stay in the hospital overnight.
Reason for procedure
- Significantly increases blood flow through blocked arteries.
- Reduces chest pain (angina).
- Increases the ability to perform physical activities that are limited by angina or ischemia.
- It can also be used to widen arteries in the neck and brain to prevent strokes.
Medications that may be prescribed after surgery
Learn more about heart medications, such as dual antiplatelet therapy, that you may need to take after surgery to prevent complications and put you on the path to the best recovery.
Download the heart-by-heart answer sheet: What is Coronary Angioplasty? (PDF)
laser angioplasty
Contents of the procedure
It is similar to angioplasty except that a laser is attached to the tip of the catheter to open the blocked artery. Pulsating light rays evaporate built-up plaque.
Reason for procedure
- Increases blood flow through blocked arteries.
heart valve surgery
(Also called heart valve repair or replacement surgery)
Watch an animation of heart valves and heart valve surgery options
Contents of the procedure
Repair or replace abnormal or diseased heart valves with healthy heart valves.
Reason for procedure
- Restores heart valve function.
Download heart-specific answer sheets: Why do I need heart valve surgery? (PDF)
atherectomy
Contents of the procedure
It is similar to angioplasty, except the catheter has a rotating shaver at the end that removes plaque from the artery.
Reason for procedure
- Increases blood flow through blocked arteries by removing plaque buildup.
- It may also be used in the carotid arteries (the main arteries in the neck that lead to the brain) to remove plaque and reduce the risk of stroke.
bypass surgery
(Also known as Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery or CABG (pronounced “cabbage”))
View Coronary Artery Bypass Diagram(link opens in new window).
Contents of the procedure
Treatment of blocked heart arteries by taking arteries or veins from other parts of the body (called a graft) and using them to move blood around the clogged artery and supply blood to the heart muscle. To do. Depending on the number of arteries that are narrowed, a person may receive one, two, three or more bypass grafts. Hospitalization for several days is required.Watch blood flow animation(link opens in new window).
Download the heart-by-heart answer sheet: What is coronary artery bypass surgery? (PDF)
Reason for procedure
- One of the most common and effective procedures for managing blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle.
- Improves blood and oxygen supply to the heart.
- Relieve chest pain (angina).
- Reduces risk of heart attack.
- Improves the ability to perform physical activities that are limited by angina or ischemia.
Medications that may be prescribed after surgery
Learn more about heart medications, such as dual antiplatelet therapy, that you may need to take after surgery to prevent complications and put you on the path to the best recovery.
heart transplant
Contents of the procedure
If a person’s heart is irreparably damaged, the diseased heart is removed and replaced with a healthy human heart. We use donated hearts.
Reason for procedure
- It is recognized as a proven procedure to restore heart health in certain patients.
minimally invasive cardiac surgery
(Also known as limited access coronary artery surgery and includes port access coronary artery bypass (PACAB or PortCAB) and minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft (MIDCAB or minimally invasive CABG))
Contents of the procedure
An alternative to standard bypass surgery (CABG). A small incision (“port”) will be made in your chest. Arteries in the chest or veins from the legs are connected to the heart to “bypass” clogged coronary arteries. The device passes through the port and performs the bypass. Surgeons do not watch these surgeries in person, but on a video monitor. In PACAB, the heart is stopped and blood is pumped through an oxygenator or “heart-lung machine” machine. MIDCAB is used to avoid cardiopulmonary bypass. It is done while the heart is still beating. Hospitalization for several days is required.
Reason for procedure
- It manages the blockage of blood flow to the heart and improves the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart.
- Relieve chest pain (angina).
- Reduces risk of heart attack.
- Improves physical activity ability.
Radiofrequency ablation
(Also called catheter ablation)
Contents of the procedure
A catheter with an electrode at the tip is guided through a vein to the heart muscle, with real-time moving X-rays (fluoroscopy) displayed on a video screen. The catheter is placed at the exact location in the heart where cells emit electrical signals that cause abnormal heart rhythms. Gentle, painless radiofrequency energy (similar to microwave heat) is then delivered into the pathway. This destroys selected cardiac muscle cells in a very small area (approximately 1/5 inch).
Reason for procedure
- Preferred treatment for many types of rapid heartbeats (arrhythmias), especially supraventricular tachyarrhythmias.
Learn more about ablation.
Placement of a stent
Contents of the procedure
A stent is a wire mesh tube used to hold an artery open that is placed during an angioplasty procedure. The stent remains permanently in the artery.
Watch the stent animation(link opens in new window).
Narrowing of the coronary artery can re-form within the stent, a condition called “restenosis.”
Reason for procedure
Download the heart-by-heart answer sheet: What is a stent? (PDF)
Medications that may be prescribed after surgery
Learn more about heart medications, such as dual antiplatelet therapy, that you may need to take after surgery to prevent complications and put you on the path to the best recovery.
Learn more about stents.
Transmyocardial revascularization (TMR)
Contents of the procedure
Make an incision in the left chest to expose the heart. A laser is then used to drill a series of holes from the outside of the heart into the heart’s pumping chambers. Some people combine TMR with bypass surgery. In these cases, a bypass is created by making an incision in the sternum. Hospitalization is usually required.
Reason for procedure
- It is used to relieve severe chest pain (angina pectoris) in seriously ill people who are unable to fully revascularize with CABG or angioplasty alone and who may be at high risk of heart attack.
