Heading for the bypass

Bypass ahead
Breaking a hallowed tradition of Kremlin secrecy, Boris Yeltsin went public about his heart troubles -- right after winning re-election as Russia's president. Yeltsin wasn't the ideal patient -- what with all that whining about getting back to work (Or was it getting away from hospital food?).

The Why Files got to wondering: Exactly what is bypass surgery? What's new about America's most popular major surgery?
So scrub you hands and adjust your face mask -- the patient is being wheeled into the operating room. [Posted Nov. 24, 1996]
Yeltsin is recuperating with some new cardiac plumbing.
The Why Files attended a bypass surgery. All eight hours of it.
little blue men
© University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School, Edward Joseph, photographer.

Here's the Cliff Notes version of how a heart works.

Fascinating facts and notorious numbers on bypass surgery.

There must be an easier way to do bypass surgery. There is -- on the horizon.

No time in your busy schedule for a week in the hospital? How about a do-it-yourselfer's heart transplants kit?

Would you trust your vital organs to these bozos?

Follow your heart...search The Why Files.

There are 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 documents. (Glossary | Bibliography)