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When is the right time to have a bypass surgery?

Larkcosedo asked...

Dear Caring.Com, I hope you can give some ideas. My father has already been recommended for a heart bypass. But due to lack of financial presence, this activity has been canceled so many times. His doctor, as far as I understand, saw the result from his 2D echo and treadmill tests and said that the other half of his heart doesn't have or maybe less supply of blood anymore which leads to a recommendation to undergo a bypass surgery.

My question is, when is the right time to have a bypass surgery? Is bypass surgery safe this days? I mean, can life go on normally after bypass? Because I was thinking, maybe it will just make my father's life worse. We also went for another advice from another doctor who specializes in natural medications or cellular nutrient medication to treat heart diseases, and part of what they said was that they do not advise heart bypass since it will just cost us too much money and it will not cure but instead it will possibly create the need for another bypass after one or two years. That's why I ask, when is bypass advisable?

They also suggested to give us a medication that uses mainly vitamin C, lysine etc. Is this kind of medication the right one? Will it really cure heart diseases? Can it be used as a substitute for a heart bypass instead? They also explained to us how this vitamin C removes plaques in the arteries, about cholesterol and how heart diseases happen.

Please give me some ideas about these two alternatives in curing heart diseases. And about treating heart diseases with these cellular nutrients, as I'm sure you've also heard about this thing.

Expert Answer

Carolyn Strimike, N.P. and Margie Latrella, N.P. are cardiac nurse practitioners specializing in the prevention of heart disease and stroke. They have over 40 years of nursing experience in Cardiology between them. The main goal of their work is to counsel, motivate and empower women to adopt healthy lifestyle choices.

Avoiding bypass surgery is not recommended if your father has blockages in the arteries of his heart and a weakened heart muscle. If he has not had a heart catheterization yet that should be your next step. The heart catheterization shows how severe the blockages are and determines whether bypass surgery or balloon angioplasty/stenting should be done. The timing of bypass surgery is usually determined by the severity of the blockages and the patient's symptoms. Following bypass surgery many people feel better than they did before surgery. It does take several weeks to heal after surgery but as the heart muscle gets stronger people usually resume all of their usual activities. Many people who have bypass surgery do not require future procedures or repeat bypass.
We would not recommend vitamin C and natural medications INSTEAD of bypass surgery. There is NO medical research to support the claims that vitamin C removes plaque in arteries. If you are unsure what to do we would recommend getting a second opinion from another cardiologist.