The functioning of different organs in our body is dependent upon a good blood supply
The functioning of different organs in our body is dependent upon a good blood supply. Heart is the organ, which is involved in the supply of blood to different parts of the body. The heart is being supplied blood by the coronary arteries.
However, if there is a narrowing or clogging in the blood vessel that supplies blood to the heart, the region of heart being supplied by the vessel is deprived of its blood supply. This results in defective functioning of the heart. However, this structural effect can be corrected by surgery, commonly known as coronary bypass.Coronary bypass surgery is a way to treat blocked heart arteries by creating new passages for blood to flow to your heart muscle. It works by taking arteries or veins from other parts of your body — called grafts — and using them to reroute the blood around the clogged artery.
Women have a 22 percent greater risk of dying during or immediately after a heart bypass than men, according to a recent study that analyzed the treatment outcomes in either sex.
Cardiology fellow Ron Blankstein and colleagues at the University of Chicago Hospital looked at records of more than 15,000 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) at 31 hospitals.
They found that even after accounting for smaller body size and known risk factors for poor outcomes -- such as age, hypertension, and diabetes -- women were still more likely to die after CABG than men, reports the health portal Med Page Today.
Researchers say factors that may help to explain the poor outcomes in women include the effects of body fat composition, which renders tissues and blood vessels less likely to heal and more likely to dissect.
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For most of the patients, CABG still represents the optimal therapy for their coronary heart disease, and the results shouldn't scare women away from heart bypass surgery.
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