Procedures and Surgeries for Heart Disease
Angioplasty and Stents
Angioplasty is a nonsurgical technique for opening a blocked artery. A stent is a tube used to keep the artery open. Click here to learn what it's all about.
Atherosclerosis -- hardening and narrowing of the arteries -- gets a lot of bad press, with good reason. This progressive process silently and slowly blocks arteries, putting blood flow at risk. Atherosclerosis is the usual cause of heart attacks, strokes, and peripheral vascular disease -- what together are called "cardiovascular disease." Cardiovascular disease is the No. 1 killer in America, with more than 800,000 deaths in 2005. How does atherosclerosis develop? Who gets it, and why?...
Read the What Is Atherosclerosis? article > >
Bypass Surgery
Heart bypass surgery is just what it sounds like. It’s also called "cabbage" -- CABG or coronary artery bypass graft. A surgeon builds a bypass around a blocked artery. It's a very serious but very common operation. Get the facts here.
Heart Valve Surgery and Valvuloplasty
Heart valve disease can be treated with surgery. It can also be treated with balloon valvuloplasty, a nonsurgical technique. This article compares and contrasts the two approaches.
Heart Valve Surgery and Valvuloplasty
Cardioversion
Like defibrillation, cardioversion uses an electric shock to restore proper heart rhythm. But cardioversion uses a milder shock in nonemergency situations. Click here for more.
EECP
For people with persistent angina, EECP -- enhanced external counterpulsation -- can sometimes help when other treatments fail. It's a high-tech, nonsurgical procedure that can create a kind of natural bypass for blocked arteries. Read about it here.
Aortic Aneurysm Repair
Aortic aneurysm repair is a tricky surgery. This video is about a new technique that avoids risky surgery.
Heart Ablation Therapy
For heart-rhythm problems, ablation therapy seeks to stop abnormal electrical signals. There are both nonsurgical and surgical forms of heart ablation therapy. Here are the facts.
Heart Transplant
Yes, it's drastic. But 40 years after the first heart transplant, it's now an established procedure. Click here to find out why.
Pacemaker
Pacemakers are often implanted to keep your heart on track. Learn more about them.
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is an amazingly sophisticated device. It automatically senses when your heart starts to flutter helplessly, then shocks it back into its rhythmic groove.
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator
ICD Lead Extraction
You may need ICD lead extraction when one of the wires going from your device to your heart -- a lead -- isn't working right. This guide to the procedure gives you the facts you'll need.
Left Ventricular Assist Device
It's not an artificial heart -- but it's close. An implanted LVAD -- left-ventricular-assist device that's sometimes called a "bridge to transplant" -- helps the heart's main chamber do its pumping job. Here's an illustrated guide to how it works.
Left Ventricular Assist Device
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