Every year, millions of patients are diagnosed with some form of heart or cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease. Coronary artery disease is caused when plaque build-up narrows or blocks blood vessels in the heart. One way to treat patients diagnosed with this condition is to perform coronary bypass surgery.

Coronary bypass surgery reroutes, or "bypasses," blood around clogged arteries to improve blood flow and oxygen to the heart. This procedure is often called CABG (coronary artery bypass graft).  It is possible to perform one or more bypasses during the same surgical intervention, depending upon the number of arteries being bypassed.

If you are diagnosed with this condition, your doctor may recommend that you have coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. For instance, more than 300,000 CABG procedures are performed each year in the U.S.