What is left ventricular reconstructive surgery?
Left ventricular reconstructive surgery is a procedure sometimes used to treat heart failure. When a heart attack occurs in the left ventricle (left lower pumping chamber of the heart), a scar may form. The scarred area can become thin and bulge out with each beat. The bulging thin area is called an aneurysm. The aneurysm, along with other heart damage you may have, makes your heart work harder to pump blood throughout your body. Initially your heart is able to handle the additional work, but over time, your left ventricle becomes larger than normal and pumps less effectively. Left ventricular reconstructive surgery allows the surgeon to remove the scarred, dead area of heart tissue and/or the aneurysm and return the left ventricle to a more normal shape. The goal is to improve heart failure and/or angina (chest pain) symptoms and possibly improve the pumping ability of your heart. The Cleveland Clinic Heart Center has been performing these surgeries for many years with great success.
