Also called: Cardiac surgery
Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Heart Surgery
Heart surgery can correct certain heart problems when other treatments haven't worked or can't be used.
In some cases, heart surgery may be a medical emergency. For example, surgery for a severe heart attack may need to be done right away. In other cases, you can plan heart surgery ahead of time. Some heart surgeries are major operations, such as heart bypass surgery for blocked arteries in the heart. Other surgeries are more minor heart procedures, such as putting in a pacemaker.
There are different types of heart surgery that can help treat many heart conditions:
- An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to help prevent sudden cardiac arrest.
- A biventricular pacemaker to coordinate the heart's pumping action so it's more powerful.
- A ventricular assist device to help the heart pump blood.
- A total artificial heart to pump blood for the heart.
The approach a surgeon uses to do heart surgery depends on your heart problem, your general health, and other factors. Approaches to heart surgery include:
- Open-heart surgery (also called traditional heart surgery) is when the surgeon cuts the chest open to reach the heart. Because it's difficult to operate on a beating heart, medicines are used to stop the heart. A heart-lung bypass machine keeps oxygen-rich blood pumping through the body during the surgery.
- Off-pump heart surgery is open-heart surgery on a beating heart without using a heart-lung bypass machine. The surgeon holds the heart steady with a device. Surgeons may use off-pump heart surgery to do coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG), but only in certain cases.
- Minimally invasive heart surgery uses small cuts between the ribs. The cuts may be as small as 2 to 3 inches. The surgeon inserts tools into the chest through the cuts. This type of heart surgery may or may not use a heart-lung bypass machine.
- Robotic-assisted surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery. The surgeon uses a computer to control tools on the arms of a robot. This allows the surgeon to be very accurate when doing difficult operations.
Like all surgery, heart surgery has risks even though the results are often excellent. The risks include:
- Bleeding
- Infection, fever, and swelling
- A problem from anesthesia (medicine that makes you sleep during surgery)
- Arrhythmia
- Damage to the heart, kidneys, liver, and lungs
- Stroke
The risks of heart surgery tend to be higher if:
- The surgery is an emergency.
- You have other medical conditions, including: Diabetes
- Kidney diseases
- Lung diseases
- Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
It sits within Blood, Heart and Circulation and Surgery and Rehabilitation.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Heart Surgery
5,381 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Medtronic SYMBIOSIS Post-Market Registry for Patients Undergoing Cardiac SurgeryMedtronic Cardiac Surgery
- Hydroxyethyl Starch Versus Crystalloid and Postoperative Major Adverse Kidney ComplicationsSeoul National University Hospital
- Evaluate the Value of Modified Shock Index in Predicting the Incidence of Cardiovascular Events After Non-cardiac Surgery in Cardiac PatientsFujian Medical University Union Hospital
- Sedentary Behavior Modification, Cardiopulmonary Function & QOL Post Cardiac Surgery Patients.Riphah International University
- Adductor Canal Block: Efficacy in Postoperative Pain Management for Cardiac SurgeryMontreal Heart Institute
- Impact of Intraoperative Hemodynamic Instability on Outcomes in Cardiac SurgerySaglik Bilimleri Universitesi Gazi Yasargil Training and Research Hospital
Research already completed
- Evaluation of an AI-Based Lightweight ECG Telemetry Monitoring SystemHUINNO Co., Ltd
- Weaning From Mechanical Ventilation After Pediatric Cardiac SurgeryAlexandria University
- Remote ECG Monitoring-Based Phase I Cardiac Rehabilitation After Heart SurgeryHUINNO Co., Ltd
- Calcium Administration in Cardiac SurgeryMeshalkin Research Institute of Pathology of Circulation
- Teach-Back-Based Incentive Spirometry TrainingAydin Adnan Menderes University
- Risk Factors for Delirium Following Cardiac SurgeryVanderbilt University
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Heart Procedures and SurgeriesAmerican Heart Association
- What Is Heart Surgery?National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Living With
- Cardiac Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health TopicNational Library of Medicine
- What to Expect After Heart SurgerySociety of Thoracic Surgeons
Related Issues
- Dressler SyndromeMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Heart SurgeryNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Cardiac Surgical Procedures. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Heart Surgery, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.