fullcortex.net

( 1999 )
How many arteries supply blood to the heart and is it possible to have bypass surgery on all of them at the same time?

There are three major coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle. They are the right coronary artery, the left anterior descending artery, and the circumflex artery. The left anterior descending and the circumflex arteries arise from a common artery known as the left main coronary artery. Each artery branches further, giving rise to additional smaller arteries.

Bypass surgery can be performed on the major arteries or the branches. However, as the arteries branch further and become smaller, it becomes more difficult to place bypass grafts (obtained from the chest or leg) in the very small arteries. Atherosclerosis, or narrowing of the arteries, tends to occur in the bigger, or proximal, portion of the coronary arteries, thus allowing a surgeon to place a bypass vessel around the area of narrowing and improve blood flow to the heart muscle. In some cases, only two or three arteries can be bypassed, while in other situations four or five bypass grafts can be placed in the branches of the three major coronary arteries.