MODEL RELEASED. Triple bypass heart surgery. Team of surgeons perform open heart surgery on a male patient who needs a triple bypass. The patient's chest is clamped open, and a surgeon holds the beating heart in his hand. Tubes filled with blood connect the patient to a heart-lung machine. Coronary bypass surgery restores the blood supply to the heart muscle in patients with coronary heart disease. Parts of the coronary arteries, blocked by fatty plaques, are bypassed by grafts of veins usually taken from the leg. The improved blood flow to the heart muscle relieves angina and reduces the risk of heart attack.