People who have heart failure may have surgery to:

• Open clogged arteries. Coronary artery bypass surgery or angioplasty may help some people who have heart failure with chest pain (angina) or who have had a heart attack.
• Fix problems that cause heart failure, such as damaged valves.
• Get a new heart. You have to meet certain conditions to get a heart transplant. But you may be able to have one if you have very bad, life-limiting symptoms.

Surgery Choices

• Heart transplant
• Surgery to get a pacemaker, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), or ventricular assist devices (VADs). For more information, see Other Treatment.
• Coronary artery bypass surgery
• Angioplasty

For more information on bypass surgery and angioplasty, see the topic Coronary Artery Disease.