Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery reroutes blood around blocked arteries, increasing blood flow to the heart muscle tissue.

The surgeon makes a vertical incision in the skin and muscle in the middle of the chest and then cuts through the breastbone (sternum).

The surgeon spreads the rib cage with a retractor to expose the heart and then cuts through the lining that protects the heart (pericardium).

To reroute blood flow around the diseased blood vessel, surgeons typically use a portion of the saphenous vein in the leg or an internal mammary artery.

Regardless of which type of blood vessel is used, oxygen-rich blood from the aorta is rerouted around the blocked section of the coronary artery to feed the heart muscle.