Heart Diseases and Conditions We Treat With Surgery

If you have heart disease, you can often manage it with healthy lifestyle habits and medications from your primary care provider or cardiologist. However, if your condition gets worse and can no longer be managed by lifestyle modifications or medications, consider Henry Ford Heart & Vascular. We specialize in the latest surgical techniques to reduce your risk of a cardiac event, such as a heart attack.

Care for all types of heart disease

We offer a full spectrum of cardiothoracic surgery options, from implantable devices and repair procedures to heart transplants. Our team provides comprehensive diagnosis and evaluation to determine the best treatment for you. When appropriate, our cardiothoracic surgeons use minimally invasive approaches, which use smaller incisions for less pain and a faster recovery.

Our heart surgery team is one of the few in Michigan with expertise in every type of heart surgery. We can care for people with all types and stages of heart disease, even the most complex.

Aortic diseases and disorders

Your heart supplies oxygen-rich blood to your body through your largest artery — your aorta. Trauma, high blood pressure and many other conditions can create weakened areas, known as aneurysms, in the aorta’s thick walls.

Our heart surgeons have expertise in sophisticated procedures to repair aortic conditions, which can become life-threatening, including:

Arrhythmias (heart rhythm disorders)

Arrhythmias are conditions that affect the heart’s electrical system, which controls heart rate and rhythm. There are many types of arrhythmias. They can cause the heart to beat too fast, too slowly or irregularly.

Our heart surgeons perform specialized operations, such as the Maze procedure, to restore a regular heartbeat in people with severe arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation.

Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is a group of diseases that affect the heart muscle, preventing it from contracting and relaxing properly as it pumps blood. Our heart surgeons are skilled in procedures to correct thickened, stiff or abnormal heart muscle tissue that can develop with cardiomyopathy.


How You And Your Doctor Can Reduce Your Risk of Heart Failure

Heart failure is a serious condition that requires ongoing treatment and care. The good news is there are steps you can take to reduce your risk for developing heart failure in the future.

Coronary artery disease and heart attacks

Coronary artery disease (CAD) develops as heart arteries narrow and stiffen, reducing blood flow to the heart. If untreated, CAD can lead to a heart attack.

Henry Ford heart surgeons have advanced training in surgeries that treat and help prevent heart attacks. Learn more about coronary artery disease and heart attacks.

Heart failure

Heart failure can result from a wide variety of heart diseases and other conditions that gradually weaken and damage the heart. As the heart weakens, it can no longer pump enough blood to the body.

Our heart surgeons perform surgery to treat heart conditions that can lead to heart failure, such as coronary artery disease and heart valve disease. For advanced heart failure, we implant devices that help the heart pump better. We also perform heart transplants for end-stage heart failure.

Structural heart diseases

Structural heart diseases are problems with structures within the heart, such as the valves, chambers or walls. Some people are born with a structural heart disease, while other types develop later in life. Our heart surgeons treat structural heart conditions, including:

Other diseases we treat with heart surgery

Our heart surgeons are skilled in the latest techniques for heart surgery to treat any disease that affects the heart, including:

  • Amyloidosis, a buildup of abnormal proteins in the heart, kidneys, liver and other organs
  • Endocarditis, inflammation of the inner lining of the heart’s chambers and valves, which can become life-threatening
  • Pulmonary hypertension, high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs, which affects the right side of the heart

Heart surgery at Henry Ford

Henry Ford’s cardiothoracic surgeons have extensive expertise in the latest heart surgery procedures, including open and minimally invasive approaches. We’re among the nation’s leaders in robotic heart surgery. Learn more about our heart surgery procedures.

Schedule a heart surgery consultation

Request an in-person or virtual appointment with a heart team member for evaluation. Our cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons work together to plan your treatment, including heart surgery options.


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