Q: My question is related to bypass surgery. My elder brother is suffering from heart disease and needs to undergo bypass surgery as his arteries are blocked (three arteries with 50%-70% blockages) and according to the surgeon only 20% of his heart is pumping so it is difficult to go for bypass surgery. Kindly tell us what to do in this case? He is 57 years old weighing 80 Kg for a height of 170 cm.

A:Low ejection fraction is not a bar to bypass surgery it just increases the risk of the surgery. So even if your brother has 20% ejection fraction, he still can undergo bypass surgery but the risk of surgery obviously would increase. However for a definitive opinion, we need to see the angiography film, as well as the patient.