Heart

A look at bypass surgery
Coronary bypass surgery have been considered a routine operation for more than 30 years. In South Africa, approximately 8 400 coronary bypass operations are performed per year.

Angioplasty and stenting
In an angioplasty, the interventional cardiologist inflates a small balloon inside a blood vessel narrowed by atherosclerosis.

Catheter ablation
Catheter ablation is a procedure which has been developed over the past few years to treat and in many cases, cure, problems with the conducting system of the heart.

Gallery: heart bypass surgery
Every year, more than 8 000 heart bypass operations are performed in South Africa. Here are the pictures of one of them.

A routine miracle
Around 23 bypass operations take place in South Africa every day – here’s what to expect, courtesy of the Heart Magazine.

Pacemakers set the pace
When things go wrong with your heart's natural pacemaker, the tempo of your heartbeat can be corrected by a nifty device known as a pacemaker.

The time bomb in your arteries
Shocking news about the dangers of a new type of stent is now being revealed bit by bit in medical journals.

Should you be on statins?
Statins have an amazing track record. Hundreds of thousands of South Africans take them every day to stave off heart attacks and strokes.