What surgical procedure involves rerouting blood around a diseased vessel supplying blood to the heart?

The surgical procedure that reroutes blood around a diseased vessel supplying blood to the heart is known as coronary artery bypass, commonly referred to as CAB. This procedure is typically performed to treat coronary artery disease, where one or more coronary arteries become narrowed or blocked due to the buildup of plaque. During a CAB surgery, a surgeon creates a new pathway for blood to flow to the heart muscle by grafting a healthy blood vessel taken from another part of the patient's body (such as a leg or chest) to bypass the blocked artery. This restoration of blood supply improves blood flow, alleviates symptoms such as angina, and can decrease the risk of heart attacks.

Other procedures mentioned, such as coronary angioplasty, involve the use of a balloon to widen narrowed arteries but do not involve bypassing them. Heart transplants involve replacing the entire heart rather than rerouting blood flow, and pacemaker insertion is a procedure for managing heart rhythms rather than addressing blocked blood vessels.