Step-by Step Heart Surgery

Heart surgeon Jai Raman walks us through the tools and steps of a successful heart surgery, and tells us how far the procedure has come in recent decades.

A Cardiac Conundrum

Within cardiac care, examples of medical intervention include surgical procedures, such as coronary bypass operations, and invasive treatments like angioplasty. Coronary bypass has the longer history, traceable to 1910, when one surgeon made an (unsuccessful) attempt to perform bypass surgery on a dog...

A Heart Surgeon's Viral Confession

In the essay, Lundell describes his purportedly newfound understanding that a diet of natural, unprocessed food can prevent and reverse heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. He recalls two and a half misguided decades as a cardiac surgeon prescribing cholesterol-lowering medications and recommending a low-fat diet. He says that he recently realized the error of his ways, stopped practicing, and dedicated his career to heart disease prevention.

Can Heart Surgery Change a Person's Personality?

To date, no study has adequately examined whether heart surgery can change a person's personality, mainly because personality is difficult to define and measure. When recovering from heart surgery, some patients report trouble remembering, slower mental processing and difficulty focusing. Although this condition, often referred to as “pumphead,” is usually short-lived, one study of bypass patients has suggested that the associated cognitive changes might worsen over time. Related research, however, indicates it is unlikely that cardiac surgery significantly alters how the brain works.

Doctors used Google Cardboard to perform heart surgery on a baby

A four-month-old baby born with one lung and a defective heart has celebrated her first Christmas with her family, thanks to a life-saving surgery made possible with Google Cardboard, the tech giant’s cheap virtual-reality headset.

For Many, Life After Heart Surgery Is Surprisingly Hard

As heart patients survive ever more complex surgeries, they are often surprised by how tough it can be to bounce back after the operation. While recovery can be a long slog after any major surgery, invasive procedures on the body’s most vital organ can be especially traumatic.

Getting Heart Surgery? Wait For The Full Moon

Surgeries during a waning full moon have lower mortality rates and shorter hospital stays, according to a new study.

How an Indian doctor built a billion dollar company by making heart surgeries affordable

In India, Shetty is sometimes described as the “Henry Ford of heart surgeries” because his hospitals have managed to achieve economies of scale due to the sheer number of operations they undertake in a day.

Review: How the Beat Goes On in ‘The Matter of the Heart’

A daring attempt to pick shrapnel from a soldier’s heart opened the door to cardiac surgery.

Slowing Down the Rush to Open Heart Surgery

Smart questions you can ask to make informed choices.

Why Heart Surgery May be Better in the Afternoon

The time of day of your surgery could have long-term impacts on your health. That’s according to researchers who looked at the way circadian rhythm—the body’s internal clock—affects the outcomes of a patient recovering from a complex heart procedure.