Current strategies in cardiac surgery

Abstract

Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) may cause narrowing of the coronary arteries due to the thickening and loss of elasticity of their walls. The arterial narrowing, when significant, will reduce blood flow to the myocardium during exercise and, in the presence of severe coronary artery disease, even at rest. Revascularization by coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery has been shown to offer symptomatic and prognostic benefits [1].