What To Expect When Undergoing Open Heart Surgery?

The heart is the most vital body organ that regulates blood circulation all over the body. But sometimes, it starts creating issues in pumping and filtering the blood, leading to heart pain, strokes and heart failure. Open heart surgery is the most widely performed procedure to manage and treat various heart issues. 

In this blog, Dr. Sujay Shad, a senior cardiac surgeon, will discuss an insightful study of open heart surgery. The heart specialist will also talk in detail about what one can expect before, after and during this surgical procedure. So, read the post and learn about the benefits of considering open heart surgery in Delhi.

What is open heart surgery?

As the name indicates, open heart surgery is a surgical procedure to treat various heart's health issues and improve one’s quality of life. Open surgery includes the minimally invasive treatment of heart muscle, arteries, valves, aorta and other arteries connected to the heart. Following are the medical conditions that require open heart surgery:

Medical Conditions require Open Heart Surgery 

• Coronary Artery Bypass 

Coronary arteries are the blood vessels. These blood vessels keep the heart healthy by supplying adequate blood, oxygen, and nutrients to heart muscles. Due to formation of sticky cholesterol caused by unhealthy lifestyle of smoking, oily food and various other things, this pathway gets blocked. This heart condition leads to severe chest pain, life-threatening heart attack and sometimes  death too. As a result an open heart surgery called coronary bypass surgery is used to create an alternate pathway to feed the heart.

    

• Heart valve repair or replacement

The heart has four valves that regulate blood flow through the heart and to the rest of the body. The four heart valves are the mitral, tricuspid, aortic, and pulmonary valves. Heart valve issues like stenosis, regurgitation, prolapse, endocarditis etc can arise due to congenital disabilities, infections, and age-related wear and tear. Heart valve issues lead to serious complications, including heart failure, stroke, and even death. Depending on the severity of the issue, heart valve surgery is done if repair or replacement is necessary.

• Aortic Surgery

The largest artery in the body, the aorta, transports oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the body's other organs. The swelling of an artery is known as an aneurysm. Abdominal aortic aneurysms and thoracic aortic aneurysms can occur in two different types of aneurysms of the aorta.

One of the most common aortic issues is an aortic aneurysm, a bulge or weakening of the wall of the aorta. If left untreated, an aortic aneurysm can rupture, leading to life-threatening internal bleeding. As a result, open heart surgery for aortic surgery is performed to prevent  aneurysm and further heart complications.

• Septal Myectomy for HOCM

Septal myectomy is a surgical procedure to treat hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), a genetic heart condition that causes the heart muscle to thicken and obstruct blood flow. While septal myectomy is a complex surgery, Dr. Sujay Shad, a top heart surgeon in Delhi, performs it successfully and improves symptoms and quality of life for HOCM patients.

• Pulmonary Thromboendarterectomy

Blood clots form in the lungs and block the pulmonary arteries, leading to high blood pressure and strain on the right side of the heart. Such a heart condition requires Pulmonary thromboendarterectomy (PTE) - a surgical procedure for treating chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH).

• Heart Failure Surgery

Heart failure surgery refers to a range of surgical procedures that can be used to treat advanced heart failure. These surgeries are typically reserved for patients with severe heart failure symptoms that are not responding to medical therapy. The most common types of heart failure surgery include heart transplant, left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation, and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). 

A heart transplant involves replacing a patient's diseased heart with a healthy donor heart, while LVAD implantation involves implanting a mechanical device to help the heart pump blood. CRT uses a pacemaker-like device to help coordinate the contractions of the heart's ventricles. Heart failure surgery can significantly improve eligible patients' quality of life and survival.

Expectations from an open heart surgery

When an individual is diagnosed with an unhealthy heart and receives a recommendation for open heart surgery, things the individual can expect are underneath:

• Open heart surgery will be performed on the numbed body. For this surgeon will inject general anaesthesia first.
• As the name indicates, open heart surgery is a surgical procedure; hence the surgeon will make incisions of 8- to 10-inch in the chest.
• After that, the surgeon will access the heart. The surgeon will connect the heart to a heart-lung bypass machine. 
• This machine removes the blood away and performs the surgical procedure of heart valve repair, coronary bypass, aortic surgery and any other. 

How to Preparation for open heart surgery

Usually, best heart surgeons in Delhi consider a candidate with normal blood pressure, diabetes and maintained weight for open heart surgery. As a result, a patient can expect mentioned below-mentioned guidelines to follow:

• One must stop taking blood thinner medicines a week or two before surgery. 
• One must limit the consumption of alcohol and smoking. 
• One must avoid taking the stress of surgery and stay positive
• Candidates can reduce weight.

Medical procedure before open heart surgery

When one qualifies the eligibility criteria for open heart surgery, heart surgeons do the medical checkup, during which one can expect:

• X-rays of the chest 
• The candidate's chest must be hair-free.
• Sterilization of the surgical area with anti-bacterial soap or cleaner.
• An intravenous line (IV) will provide the fluids and medications.

Post Open Heart Surgery Expectation

Depending on the surgery, one can expect to spend a day or more in the hospital's intensive care unit (ICU). A heart surgeon will monitor the patient's health throughout this time daily. Anytime the patient feels well, the surgeon releases the discharge papers based on the patient's recovery report and allows the patient to return to the hospital for regular checkups.

The cardiac surgeon and colleagues will go over aftercare instructions before discharge. Patients may, however, be provided with a unique, firm pillow to protect their chest when they cough, sneeze, or get out of bed.

Benefits of Open heart surgery 

Open heart surgery is frequently advised for treating heart attack, heart failure, valvular disease, and coronary artery disease. The procedure for performing a coronary artery bypass is the most frequently used. The quality of life is improved, and long-lasting results are helped by this surgery, which has a high success rate for treating serious conditions that pose a threat to life.’

Beyond this, open heart procedures have a lot of other advantages, such as:

1. A decrease in chest pain 
2. An improvement in respiratory ability.
3. Bloodstream oxygen levels that are healthier
4. Lessened risk of stroke or blood vessel issues
5. Sustaining the benefits of open heart surgery involves lifelong dedication to certain lifestyle changes, each described below.

To know more about open heart surgery and when it is necessary. Book an appointment with Dr. Sujay Shad, best heart surgeon in Delhi at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital! 

Consult now for more information!

Understanding Bypass Surgery: What to Expect

The term "cardiovascular disease" is used to define a wide range of problems that impact the anatomy and function of the heart. Coronary heart disease is a type of heart disease that happens when the heart's arteries can't get enough oxygen-rich blood to the heart. Under these circumstances, a coronary bypass operation is carried out. It is a surgical treatment for the management of coronary artery disease. 

In this blog, Dr. Sujay Shad, the renowned heart surgeon in Delhi, will discuss the surgery's causes, procedure, and aftercare. He will also talk about bypass surgery cost in India.  

Keep reading to understand the bypass surgery procedure in detail. 

What is Bypass Surgery?

A coronary bypass surgery aims at creating a new route, or bypass, for the oxygenated blood to flow around the blocked artery to reach the heart. For this, the surgeon may take healthy blood vessels, or grafts, from the leg vein, arms, or chest artery. The surgeon attaches one end of the graft just above the blockage and the other end under the blockage. Blood travels through the new graft and around the obstruction to get to the heart muscle. 

Why is Bypass Surgery Needed?

Bypass surgery is needed to treat Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). When the coronary arteries, which provide blood to the heart and other parts of the body, get clogged with plaque, it results in CAD.

The deposits of cholesterol and other chemicals in the arteries make up plaque. Plaque formation over time causes the interior of the arteries to narrow, which can partially or completely obstruct the passage of blood via the arteries. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. It can affect any artery and lack of enough blood supply can increase the risk of cardiac failure.  

If the coronary arteries narrow or become obstructed to the point where one has a significant risk of having a heart attack, the doctor may advise heart bypass surgery. 

Also, if the blockage is too bad to be fixed with medicine or other methods, the doctor may recommend bypass surgery.

The doctor may advise a coronary artery bypass surgery in the following conditions: 

• When the left main artery is blocked, which carries most of the blood to the heart muscle. 
• When either of the main heart arteries is blocked partially or completely.  
• When one suffers severe angina (chest pain) due to narrowed heart arteries. 
• When one has several clogged coronary arteries, and the left ventricle is now functioning the way it should.

Who is At the Risk of CAD?  

The following conditions may increase a person’s risk of developing coronary artery disease: 

• Diabetes 
• High blood pressure 
• Physically inactive 
• Use of tobacco or smoking 
• Family history of CAD 
• High cholesterol levels 
• Long-term kidney disease 
• Obesity 
• Stress 
• Unhealthy lifestyle and diet 
• Lack of sleep 

Preparing for Bypass Surgery  

Before the surgery

Coronary bypass surgery is a major surgery and may require many doctor visits and tests before the surgery. One may have to undergo the following tests before the procedure. 

• Blood tests
• Chest X-ray
• Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
• Angiogram

Apart from this, one week before the surgery, the patient must stop smoking and stop taking anti-inflammatory or other blood-thinning medicines. The patient will be asked to stop eating or drinking anything the night before the surgery.

During the Surgery 

The patient will be provided medicine, fluids, and an anesthetic using an IV. Once the anaesthesia kicks in, the patient will experience no discomfort as they go off to sleep.

 

• In order to begin, the surgeon makes an incision in the centre of the chest.
• When the surgeon performs heart surgery, the patient will be connected to a cardiopulmonary bypass machine that pumps oxygenated blood throughout the body.
• Certain treatments can be carried out without attaching the patient to a cardiopulmonary bypass machine or "off-pump."
• In order to bypass the narrowed or damaged section of the artery, the surgeon next takes a healthy blood vessel from the legs, chest, or arms. The graft is connected with one end above the obstruction and the other below.
• When the surgeon is done, the bypass is tested to ensure it works. When the bypass has begun to function, the incision will be sewn up, and bandaged. 
• After this, the patient will be observed in the intensive care unit (ICU).

Bypass surgery is a complex and major surgery, and the recovery takes time. Dr. Sujay Shad observes his patient in his hospital for at least a week. In some cases, he carries on the remaining post-surgery treatment for about a month or even two until he is sure that his patient is completely fine. 

One can visit Dr. Sujay Shad, the top heart surgeon in India,  at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital for any further queries on the topic, like how much bypass surgery cost in India or any other cardiac disease. 

How Can One Keep their Heart Healthy: Important Tips

There are at least 31 million individuals with heart disease, and around 6 lakh individuals die each year. Heart disease remains in the top position for killing people worldwide. But, the good news is that, unlike other diseases, it is one of the few disorders that can be prevented by making lifestyle changes. But this lifestyle change must be permanent to achieve good heart health.

In this blog, Dr. Sujay Shad, the Top Heart Surgeon in Delhi, shares tips on having a healthy heart. Read on to learn more.

1. Reduce the Intake of Salt

Individuals who consume a higher amount of salt generally tend to have higher blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. A healthy individual should consume no more than 6 grams of salt daily. One should reduce the salt intake in their food and should read labels to determine the level of salt. Fast foods and processed meat products frequently have very high amounts of salt. One can reduce blood pressure by consuming less salt, but the dose of medications needed to lessen the blood pressure should also be lowered. Be on the lookout for methods to maintain a healthy heart.

2. Reduce Saturated Fat

Saturated fats are usually found in butter, pastries, biscuits, dairy fat and meat. The problem with saturated fat is that they promote atherosclerosis in the blood vessels, which leads to blockage. One should only use a minimal amount of saturated fat when cooking or instead avoid it and use unsaturated fats. Also, cutting down on meat products, such as pork, chicken skin, red meat, bacon, and ham, is essential. One should select low-fat dairy options and avoid pies, cakes, and biscuits.

3. Consume Less Sugar

Sugar is becoming hazardous as it provides junk calories, rapidly increasing obesity. Sugar is found in almost all foods. Diabetes, blood vessel disease, and heart disease can all be brought on by excessive sugar intake. Sugar is also a big contributor to tooth decay and dental cavities. Therefore, one needs to reduce sugar consumption. This is usually done by cutting the consumption of beverages, such as eating less sweetened food, i.e. pies, chocolates and candies. Since many foods are high in sugar, reading labels is also essential for maintaining heart health. Book a consultation with Dr. Sujay Shad, the Best Heart Surgeon in Delhi, at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to learn ways of keeping the heart healthy. 

4. Stop Smoking

Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease and other health problems like cancer. Individuals who smoke are more likely to be affected by a heart attack than people who do not smoke. Nicotine is known to narrow the blood vessels, which reduces the amount of oxygen delivered to the heart. Additionally, this narrowing can cause high blood pressure, which raises the risk of kidney failure and stroke.

5. Reduce the Intake of Alcohol

Alcohol is associated with many heart problems, including high blood pressure and damage to heart muscles. Alcohol is known to lower blood cholesterol in small doses, but since some people cannot control their consumption, it could become more troublesome. Therefore, one should restrict the amount of alcohol they intake.

6. Become Physically Active

People who are not physically active are more likely to experience a wide range of health issues, such as heart disease. Any type of exercise is better than no activity. To lower the risk of heart disease, it is advised that one engages in at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. For those starting, daily walking for 45–60 minutes is suggested. The main idea is to be consistent. Exercise can help lower blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure, in addition to helping people lose weight.

7. Reduce the Body Weight

Obesity is not a benign condition, and it is linked to several long-term health conditions, such as heart and premature death. Obesity can be treated, but it requires effort and commitment. One can reduce their risk of developing heart disease by losing weight. Reduced calorie intake, increased physical activity, and weight loss surgery is required to lose body weight.

8. Control Stress

Another risk factor for heart disease and poor health is uncontrollable stress. One must take the necessary step to reduce stress in their life. One shouldn’t turn to alcohol to relieve stress but practice meditation, deep breathing exercises or join stress relief classes. In general, easing stress will not only improve the heart’s health, but the overall quality of life will also be improved.

9. Take Good Sleep

Nowadays, people have bad sleep habits, which increases the risk of heart disease. Too little sleep disturbs the body's hormonal balance, which creates havoc on the rest of the organs. One should get in the habit of getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night. Keep the bedroom free of distractions such as watching television or working on the laptop during late hours. One should go to bed on time and get up in the morning at the same time. Good sleep relieves stress, refreshes, and revitalises one for the day ahead.

Therefore, one should follow the above tips to feel better and stay active with a healthy lifestyle. Book an appointment with Dr. Sujay Shad at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to learn more ways of keeping the heart healthy and fit. He is also known for performing the best Open Heart Surgery in Delhi. Consult the expert heart surgeon today!

How To Maintain Heart Health During Winter?

 In wintertime, temperature fluctuation may have unanticipated effects on health, particularly on the heart. Keeping this in mind, it is essential to comprehend the cause and methods for protecting the heart in this weather. ‘Let’s explore why heart attacks are more prevalent in  winter and how to prevent them with the valuable information shared by the best cardiac surgeon in Delhi’, Dr. Sujay Shad practicing at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, one of the best heart hospitals in India.

Are heart attacks common during  winter?

Cold causes constriction of blood vessels. As a result, the risk of stroke and heart attack may also increase. The narrowing of coronary arteries during the winter might exacerbate angina or chest pain caused by coronary heart disease.

The heart works harder to maintain a normal body temperature when it is chilly outdoors. Because winter winds cause the body to lose heat more rapidly, they may exacerbate the condition. If the body temperature dips below 95 degrees Fahrenheit, hypothermia may injure the heart muscle.

Due to elevated blood pressure, the coronary arteries may constrict, reducing the amount of blood and oxygen reaching the heart and its muscles. The consequence may be a heart attack.

In winter season, the human body perspires more compared to summer, as a result increasing the blood volume. The increased fluid retention in the body causes higher blood pressure and an increased risk of a heart attack.

Cold weather influences people’s behavior. Weight gain and less physical activity are two examples. These two factors raise the probability of developing issues that could lead to a heart attack. In addition, individuals may consume more food, exacerbating the weight gain issue.

The decrease in solar exposure is an additional major effect. This decreased exposure to sunlight could lead to Vitamin D insufficiency if people spend more time indoors or if certain regions receive less sunlight. Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular diseases.

How to maintain a healthy heart throughout the winter?

As with the majority of illnesses, there are preventative actions one can take to reduce the disease risk. Similarly, various corrective and preventative measures can assist in reducing the incidence of heart attacks during the winter.

Follow these steps to improve heart health:

·   Eat well during winter. Avoid fried, greasy, sugary, and cholesterol-rich foods, as they can increase the risk of getting heart disease.

·   The most important thing is to be warm. If one is prone to cold conditions, wear-in sufficient layers to keep the body warm.

·   Maintain physical activity throughout the winter, even if it seems difficult. It is not necessary to exercise outside. Yoga, dancing, light aerobics, home workouts, and meditation can all be performed indoors. Regular activity maintains fitness and keeps the body warm.

·   Avoid exceeding the bounds. If one has heart problems, one should avoid strenuous labor and take short time between jobs.

·   Abstain from excessive alcohol consumption.

·   Maintain a close watch on medical concerns such as kidney, cardiovascular, and blood pressure difficulties. These conditions raise the chance of developing cardiac issues if left untreated.

·   Quit smoking since it increases the chance of acquiring heart problems.

·   Consume hot foods in chilly weather to keep the body warm.

·   Those with heart problems should avoid sudden cold strokes by being indoors on chilly days.

·   Remember these tips if one wishes to keep a healthy heart throughout the winter and beyond.For more valuable insight on heart health and if one is experiencing any issues related to their heart, they can consult Dr. Sujay Shad, a top heart surgeon in Delhi.