Coronary Bypass (CABG)
Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is open-heart surgery that uses a healthy blood vessel taken from elsewhere in the body to reroute blood around a blocked or narrowed coronary artery. By restoring blood flow to the heart muscle, it relieves angina, lowers the risk of a heart attack and can improve long-term survival in well-selected patients.
Medically reviewed by the Florence Healthcare medical team · Last reviewed June 2026
Overview
Coronary bypass surgery is used when one or more of the arteries that supply the heart muscle are significantly narrowed or blocked by coronary artery disease. Rather than reopening the diseased segment, the surgeon constructs a detour: a graft — most often the internal mammary artery from the chest wall, or a vein from the leg or an artery from the arm — is connected beyond the blockage so oxygen-rich blood can again reach the heart.
Most operations are performed through the breastbone with the help of a heart-lung machine, which takes over the work of the heart and lungs so the surgeon can operate on a still target. In selected patients the procedure can be done on a beating heart (off-pump). The decision between bypass surgery, stenting or medication is made by a combined heart team — cardiologists and cardiac surgeons together — based on how many arteries are involved, heart function and other health factors.
International patients are supported by a coordinator who arranges the assessment, a clear treatment plan and a transparent, itemized cost estimate before travel, including the expected number of nights in hospital and in the city. Cardiologists can review your angiogram, ECG and reports remotely so the options are explained before you decide to travel.
Who is a candidate?
- People with significant blockages in several coronary arteries, or in the left main artery
- Patients with coronary disease not adequately controlled by medication or by stenting
- Those with reduced heart-pumping function alongside extensive coronary disease
- People with diabetes and multi-vessel disease, for whom bypass is often preferred
- Patients fit enough to undergo and recover from open-heart surgery, as judged by the heart team
- People seeking a second opinion comparing bypass, stenting and medical therapy
What happens
- 1
Assessment and heart-team planning
Coronary angiography, echocardiography and blood tests map the disease and heart function. The combined heart team agrees with you whether bypass, stenting or medication is the best approach, and how many grafts are likely.
- 2
Preparation
Certain medications, such as blood thinners, are adjusted, and you are prepared for general anesthesia. The team explains the operation, the time in intensive care and the cardiac rehabilitation to follow.
- 3
The operation
Under general anesthesia, the surgeon harvests the graft vessels and connects them beyond the blockages, usually with the support of a heart-lung machine, restoring blood flow to the heart muscle.
- 4
Intensive-care recovery
You wake in a cardiac intensive-care unit where heart rhythm, breathing and circulation are monitored closely, before moving to a cardiac ward as you stabilize over the following days.
- 5
Rehabilitation and follow-up
A structured cardiac rehabilitation program rebuilds strength and confidence. You receive a recovery plan, medication guidance and a follow-up schedule, with remote support available after you return home.
Benefits
- Restores blood flow to heart muscle starved by blocked arteries
- Relieves angina and breathlessness and improves day-to-day capacity
- Can improve long-term survival in patients with extensive disease
- Arterial grafts, in particular, are durable and long-lasting
- Often the preferred option for multi-vessel disease and for many people with diabetes
Risks & considerations
- Bleeding, infection and reaction to anesthesia, as with any major surgery
- Stroke or heart-rhythm disturbances such as atrial fibrillation, which the team monitors for
- Temporary kidney or lung strain in the early recovery period
- Wound discomfort along the breastbone and a recovery of several weeks
- Possible narrowing of grafts over time, making ongoing risk-factor control important
- Contact your medical team straight away if you develop a fever, redness, swelling or discharge from the wound, worsening breathlessness or chest pain, or a rapid or irregular heartbeat after you go home, as these can signal a complication needing prompt attention
Conditions this treats
Where it is performed
This procedure is delivered by our Heart Center.
Learn more before you decide
Provider-reviewed guides on the related conditions, symptoms and tests in our Health Library.
Coronary Bypass (CABG) — frequently asked questions
It treats coronary artery disease — significant narrowing or blockage of the arteries that supply the heart muscle — by rerouting blood around the blockages with grafts, relieving angina and reducing the risk of a heart attack.
It depends on how many arteries are involved, your heart function and other health factors such as diabetes. Bypass is often preferred for multi-vessel or left-main disease, while stenting suits other cases. A combined heart team weighs both with you, and a second opinion can clarify the choice.
Yes. Send your angiogram, ECG and reports and our cardiologists and surgeons provide an independent opinion remotely, so the surgical, interventional and medical options are explained before you commit to travel.
Most people return to light activity within a few weeks and to full activity over six to twelve weeks, supported by cardiac rehabilitation. Your team gives you a personalized timeline and guidance on medication and risk-factor control.
Bypass surgery typically means around five to eight nights in hospital, plus follow-up before flying home — your coordinator confirms the exact plan. After reviewing your case we prepare a transparent estimate that itemizes consultations, tests, the operation, hospital and intensive-care stay, surgeon and anesthesia fees and follow-up. We do not publish fixed prices because each case differs.
Related treatments
Considering coronary bypass (cabg)?
Share your reports for a medical second opinion and a transparent, itemized cost estimate — usually within 48 hours.