open-heart

adjective

ˌō-pən-ˈhärt 

: of, relating to, or performed on a heart temporarily stopped and relieved of circulatory function and surgically opened for repair of defects or damage

open-heart surgery

Examples of open-heart in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

On June 25, 2025, Chalmers was assigned to care for a 10-year-old patient recovering from open-heart surgery. — Adam Thompson, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026

Autonomous navigation Transcatheter closure is a minimally invasive technique that repairs structural heart defects without open-heart surgery. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026

The work on my set is like open-heart surgery, only in whispers, going straight for the essential and nothing else. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 5 Sep. 2026

Her 15-year-old son, Liam, was born with a cardiac condition of his own and was scheduled for open-heart surgery later that week. — Matt Moret, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1959, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for open-heart

• counterpart
• apart
• depart
• flowchart
• forepart
• impart
• pushcart
• rampart
• redstart
• restart
• subpart
• sweetheart

Kids Definition

open-heart

adjective

: of, relating to, or done on a heart temporarily stopped and surgically opened for repair of defects or damage

open-heart surgery

Medical Definition

open-heart

adjective

: of, relating to, or performed on a heart temporarily stopped and relieved of circulatory function and surgically opened for repair of defects or damage

open-heart surgery