According to a press release issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 27 March, President Ram Nath Kovind is set to undergo a bypass surgery on Tuesday, 30 March.

On the morning of 26 March, President Ramnath Kovind arrived at the Army's Research and Referral Hospital after complaining of chest pains.

After this, on 27 March, he was shifted to AIIMS in Delhi and after further investigation, the doctors advised him to undergo a bypass procedure.

According to the Mayo Clinic, coronary bypass surgery is a procedure that is performed to restore the heart muscle and blood flow. In this procedure, the flow of blood is redirected or diverted to the part of the artery in the heart where there is a blockage.

Coronary bypass surgery is recommended by doctors when one or more arteries to the heart are blocked or partially blocked.

Having consulted your doctor, you may need to consider a coronary bypass surgery if:

• There is severe chest pain due to the narrowing of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle.
• You have more than one coronary artery problem, and the main pumping chamber of the heart - the left ventricle - is not working well.
• Your left main coronary artery is severely narrowed or blocked. This artery supplies most of the blood to the left ventricle.
• You have an arterial blockage that cannot be treated with a procedure that involves temporarily inserting a small balloon and inflating to widen the artery (angioplasty).
• Prior angioplasty or stent placement to open the artery has not been successful or the artery has narrowed even after stent placement.
• Coronary bypass surgery can also be performed in cases of emergencies, such as a heart attack when no other treatment is a viable option.

For some people, this procedure can improve heart function and can even help reduce the risk of death from heart disease.

Certain medications prescribed after coronary bypass surgery can help reduce blood cholesterol, the risk of blood clots, and helps in heart function.