Eli5: what is a heart bypass?

Question

I’m not super familiar with medical stuff. But we found out today my dad needs a bypass and I’m anxious about it, they tried to explain it and I’ve tried looking it up but I genuinely don’t understand what it entails or if he’ll be okay

Thanks

Edit: I don’t have the energy to reply to everyone but ty all for your explanations!! I’m still anxious but feeling a lot less worried knowing what it actually is

In: 9

Answer 1

You know how doctors are constantly warning us about our diet/lifestyle because our arteries will get clogged? A bypass is what they do after the arteries have become too clogged.

[Here’s an image of a normal vs clogged artery.](https://belvoir-university-health.s3.amazonaws.com/media/2017/03/07175050/Artherosclerosis-e1464198437578.jpg)

A bypass is a procedure where the doctors “go around” the clog by creating a new connection in the heart valve. It’s quite literally “bypassing” the clogged artery (hence the name)

You’ll sometimes hear the terms [Bypass | Double Bypass | Triple Bypass | Quadruple Bypass](https://www.topdoctors.co.uk/files/Image/large/5bd88553-b2f8-4a33-bd61-11a325bbab96.png)

All of these are variations of the same procedure. Do you see the white tubes in the above diagram? They are valves which have been used to connect blood flow to different parts of the heart to increase blood flow and bypass the clogs and issues.

While all surgeries have risks, a bypass procedure is pretty normal these days. It’s considered a safe and effective procedure and patients see improvement in their health after recovery. You shouldn’t be concerned.