Open heart surgery is not for the faint of heart. Even among surgeons, it is a field reserved for only some of the most skilled doctors. The only choices available at present are either to stop the heart completely during surgery or to operate on it while it is beating.
If the heart is stopped during surgery, as is the case in the majority of cases, a mechanical pump takes over the job of keeping the blood circulating until the heart is restarted. This can be an extremely traumatic experience for any patient and especially for those who already have serious cardiovascular problems. (more…)
