Any of the four heart valves may become diseased, but the most commonly involved are the mitral and aortic valves. Only one valve may be involved, but not infrequently two valves and occasionally three valves may be affected. When a valve is diseased, it may become narrowed (stenosed) or become leaky (incompetent or regurgitant); quite … Read more
The heart consists of four separate chambers. There are two receiving chambers and two pumping chambers. One receiving chamber receives … Read more
Abnormalities of the heart may be either congenital or acquired during life and are very common. In most cases they cause trivial effects on the function of the heart and, provided certain precautions are taken, will not interfere with the person’s life. Occasionally, however, the effects may be more severe so that an undue strain … Read more
Most of this booklet has talked about what other people can and will do to ensure a successful operation and a smooth and happy recovery period. Many patients are keen to know what they can do, both before and after the operation, to help themselves. The following points may be helpful:- (a) Give up smoking. … Read more
It is an encouraging fact that most studies have shown that around 75% to 80% of heart surgery patients return to their previous employment. The timing of return to work depends on the kind of work involved. As a general rule, patients with light occupations can consider returning to work any time from around two … Read more
In general it takes about three months to make a full recovery after cardiac surgery. Remember that there is a wide variation in the rate at which different people recover from major surgery. This depends largely on the overall health of the patient before surgery, but is also affected by age and other factors. The … Read more
The usual length of stay in hospital for cardiac surgery is about two weeks. Patients are usually admitted to the cardiac surgery unit two or three days before the operation and are often fit … Read more
In a number of patients with advanced heart disease, the doctors may advise a heart transplant. This operation involves removing the patient’s own diseased heart and replacing it with a healthy heart from a suitable donor. This procedure is carried out in a few centres in the UK which have specialised in transplantation. Tremendous progress … Read more
You may have heard of a relatively new technique called Balloon Angioplasty which can be used in some coronary patients. This technique involves the passage of a long fine catheter tube into an artery in the groin and advancing the tip of the catheter tube into the narrowed part of the coronary artery. When correctly … Read more
It has been accepted that the operation is doing nothing to the underlying cause of the disease, which is not well understood. Therefore, in a proportion of patients, pain may recur as the disease progresses. At … Read more