What types of heart disease are treated with surgery?
• Coronary Artery Disease – Coronary arteries can become diseased when cholesterol, a fat-like substance carried in the blood, builds up to form plaque (fatty substances and calcium) in the lining of the artery. • Valvular Heart Disease – Heart valves can be abnormally formed as birth defects or damaged by rheumatic fever, bacterial infection and calcified degeneration. Valves also can degenerate with the normal aging process. • Congenital Heart Disease – Some people are born with problems that may affect the heart and major blood vessels. Corrective surgery may occur in childhood or postponed until adulthood. • Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms – An aneurysm is a saclike bulging that can develop on the wall of a blood vessel. This bulging commonly occurs on the aorta due to weakening of the arterial wall. Many times there is a history of high blood pressure. • Tumors of the Heart – A myxoma is the most common cardiac tumor, with 75 percent occurring in the left atrium.
