During CABG, a surgical team will take one or more blood vessels from another part of your body and connect it to the blocked artery in your heart. CABG may be performed in one of three ways. In traditional CABG, the chest is cut open and a machine pumps your blood. In “off-pump” CABG, the chest is opened, but a machine for pumping blood is not used. With minimally invasive CABG methods, only small cuts are made in the chest, and a machine is not used.