surgery is aimed at stopping further damage to the heart and improving the heart's function. procedures used include: left ventricular assist device (lvad): the lvad helps your heart pump blood throughout your body. it allows you to be mobile sometimes returning home to await a heart transplant. bypass surgery : the most common surgery for heart failure is bypass surgery to circumvent a blocked heart artery. heart valve surgery : as heart failure progresses the heart valves that normally help direct the flow of blood through the heart to the rest of the body stretch out of shape allowing blood to "leak" backwards. the valves can be repaired or replaced. infarct exclusion surgery (modified dor or dor procedure): when a heart attack occurs in the left ventricle (left lower pumping chamber of the heart) a scar forms. the scarred area is thin and can bulge out with each beat (an aneurysm). a heart surgeon can remove the dead heart tissue or the aneurysm. heart transplant: a heart transplant is considered when heart failure is so severe that it does not respond to all other therapies but the person's health is otherwise good.
what surgical procedures are used to treat heart failure?