Affairs of the Heart

Heart Surgery

Main Types of Heart Surgery

• Arrhythmia Treatment …which you researched!

• Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery• Angioplasty• Valve Replacement• Aneurysm Repair• Transplant

Reasons for Most Heart Surgeries?

• Coronary Artery Disease–Result of plaque buildup in your

coronary arteries that leads to blockages.–Hardening of arteries from plaque is

called Atherosclerosis

Plaque • It occurs when fat,

cholesterol, and other substances build up in the walls of arteries and form hard structures called plaques.– Narrows the diameter of

the arteries, reducing blood flow.

Plaque • Plaques harden or can rupture– If the plaque ruptures it creates a blood clot on

the surface which will completely block the artery• Symptom of plaques: Angina (chest pain or discomfort

that occurs if an area of your heart muscle doesn't get enough oxygen-rich blood)

Coronary Bypass Surgery

• A healthy artery or vein from the body is connected, or grafted, to the blocked coronary artery– The grafted artery or vein goes around the

blocked portion of the coronary artery– Creates a new path for oxygen-rich blood to flow

to the heart muscle

Angioplasty• Alternative to bypass;

attempts to open a blockage rather than bypass it– Thin, flexible tube with a

balloon at its tip is threaded through a blood vessel to the narrow or blocked coronary artery

– Once in place, the balloon is inflated to push the plaque against the artery wall

– This restores blood flow through the artery

Angioplasty

• A stent might be placed in the coronary artery to help keep it open. A stent is a small mesh tube that supports the inner artery wall.

Valves

• For the heart to work well, blood must flow in only one direction.

• Each valve has a set of flaps called leaflets – The leaflets open to allow blood to pass from one

heart chamber into another or into the arteries.– The leaflets close tightly to stop blood from

flowing backward.

Valve Replacement

• Leaflets can thick or stiff or fuse together, keeping blood from flowing through the valve

• Leaflets may not close tightly enough causing blood to leak back into the heart chambers

Valve Replacement

• Surgeons will either repair the valve or replace it:– Pig, cow, human

valve– Man-made valve

Aneurysms

• An aneurysm is a balloon-like bulge in the wall of an artery or the heart muscle.

• When the size of an aneurysm increases, there is a significant risk of rupture, resulting in severe hemorrhage, other complications or death

Aneurysm Repair

• A stent graft is inserted through an artery in the groin.

• The stent graft makes a bridge between the healthy parts of the aorta (above and below the aneurysm)

Transplants

• Surgery to remove a person's diseased heart and replace it with a healthy heart from a deceased donor

• Remedies before a heart is found:– Ventricular assist devices (VADs) is a mechanical

pump– Total artificial hearts (TAHs) is a device that

replaces the two ventricles

Ventricle Assist Device (VAD)

Total Artificial Heart

Total Artificial Heart

Both ventricles of the heart are failing to pump enough blood to

sustain the body (end-stage biventricular failure).

The left and right failing ventricles are removed.

Total Artificial Heart

The four native heart valves are removed.

The Total Artificial Heart is implanted and attached via four

quick connects.

Total Artificial Heart

Hopefully, a donor heart is transplanted in the near future!

Transplants

• Read the article, “Searching For a Substitute” to examine the history of heart transplants.– Then answer the 10 questions that accompany it.

Transplants

• You will be assigned to one of three categories: – Those representing the doctors and scientists involved

in transplantation, – Those patients who are waiting for donor hearts and

dying of heart disease, – The general public.

• Consider the issue of heart transplants, and for next pull-out, put together your official stance on the issue as if you were a doctor, a patient, or a member of the general public!

Open Heart Transplant

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/eheart/transplantwave.html

The Artificial Human

• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/eheart/manmade.html

Heart Stats

• Test your knowledge of the human heart…what do you remember?

• http://www.pbs.org/saf/1104/index.html