Many heart-related problems may be treated with medicines or mild procedures. However, sometimes more serious issues like heart failure, partial or total blocks in blood flow, need to be treated by heart surgery.
Whenever your doctor prescribes heart surgery to you, your heart quite literally skips a beat with fear. Perhaps we need a better understanding of heart diseases to look past our fears and get to the root of the problem.
Since heart surgery is a very major procedure, it is highly recommended that you get admitted to the best heart surgery hospital in Bangalore for your procedure.
Major Types of heart surgery:
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG): If an artery is blocked, either fully or partially, then a healthy artery or vein is taken from any other part and grafted to supply blood past the blockage. It is often called Heart Bypass and is considered a major procedure.
Repair of heart valve: The surgeon either repairs or replaces a defective valve with an artificial one or a biological valve.
Insertion of pacemaker: If anyone has a condition called arrhythmia, often identified by irregular heart rhythm, then he may be treated by implanting a mechanical pacemaker.
Risks involved:
The heart is arguably the most important organ of the body. Hence any surgery of the heart is usually considered a major procedure. The risks involved have been enumerated below:
- Excessive bleeding: Some patients experience excessive bleeding and this can lead to severe complications.
- Infection: After the procedure is complete, post-operative care and maintenance of perfect hygiene are absolutely necessary. If one fails to do so, then he may risk the chance of chest infections, which may, in turn, lead to other complications.
- Adverse reaction to anesthesia: The anesthetist must be extremely cautious in administering just the right dose of anesthesia to the patient. An overdose may prove to be fatal in some cases. Hence the anesthetist should carefully study the patient’s medical history before administering the anesthesia. One should choose the best heart surgery hospital in Bangalore for such a surgery.
- Tissue damage: Heart surgery may lead to various complications like damage to tissues of the kidney, liver, lungs, and heart.
- Stroke or death: If one has a pre-existing condition, then the risk involved increases by a lot. Surgery may cause unwanted problems in his body, including the risk of stroke, which may prove fatal.
- Post-operative pain: A cardiac anesthesiologist is responsible for managing pain during and after the surgery. Usually, the anesthesiologist communicates with the patient about his or her pain tolerance capacity, his options for managing pain after the surgery.
Recovery time:
Recovery time varies from person to person. Usually, most patients who have undergone heart surgery are needed to spend a minimum of one day at the intensive care unit at the hospital. This is followed by a few days at the normal ward.
After discharge, the patient must abide by the guidelines laid down by his physician, make the necessary lifestyle changes, and must consult the physician immediately in case of any complications.
Though heart surgery involves lots of risks, often it becomes unavoidable if the patient is severely ill. You should discuss your issues with your physician in detail, including your medical history, existing ailments as well as any procedures that may have been undergone by you in the past.
To put your mind at ease, you should visit the best heart surgery hospital in Bangalore for your treatment to ensure that your procedure is completed smoothly.