Open-Heart Surgery Price: Cost of Open-Heart Surgery in India

Over 2 million people worldwide have undergone open-heart surgery to manage cardiac issues. India has amongst the world’s highest number of cases of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The yearly number of CVD fatalities in India is steadily increasing. Even at early ages, CVD risk factors such as abdominal obesity, hypertension, and diabetes are more significant among Indians than other ethnic groups. Over the last 25 years, the incidence of CVD has quickly increased in India, particularly in metropolitan areas.

While a person may be suffering from a heart-related disease, not all these disorders necessitate surgery. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, taking medicine given during your cardiologist consultation or having non-surgical or minimally invasive treatments may all aid in the management of cardiac issues.

Leading hospitals across India are equipped with rapidly evolving technologies like robotic surgery, implantable heart-rhythm monitors, and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), to diagnose and treat heart patients.

About heart Surgery

Open heart surgery is when the chest is opened so that the surgeon may correct a heart-related issue or condition in people of all ages such as CABG, valve replacement, and heart transplants. The procedure is performed to fix any anomalies, damaged regions, introduce implants, or to restore the normal functioning of the heart during a heart transplant.

Your doctor during a cardiologist consultation will propose surgery when lifestyle modifications, medications, or other treatments have failed. Heart surgery can also be performed in a medical emergency, such as a heart attack. Your specialist may recommend several forms of heart surgery based on your heart issue. 

Heart procedures can range from minimally invasive to open-heart surgeries, which may necessitate a lengthier recovery period. Cardiac surgery can treat a wide range of heart problems. Your doctor during a cardiologist consultation may conduct tests before surgery to decide which type of heart surgery is best for you.

During a cardiologist consultation you will learn that many heart patients benefit from heart surgery. Surgeons can use any of the following surgical methods to treat you:

• Repair or replace heart valves, which control the blood flow via the heart
• Restore any faulty or damaged cardiac structures.
• Implant medical devices that help regulate heartbeats or heart function & blood flow
• Transplant a damaged heart with a healthy heart from a donor
• There are risks involved with all types of heart surgery. If surgery is performed during an emergency like a heart attack, or another medical condition such as diabetes or renal illness, the risks are enhanced. 

Patients may be advised during a cardiologist consultation to have heart surgery if their heart function is affected owing to a partial or total blockage of a coronary artery, malfunctioning heart valves, irregular heart rhythms, or heart failure. The type of heart surgery recommended by cardiac doctors is determined by the heart issue, the patient’s age, and other health variables.

When you require open-heart surgery

There are several cardiac conditions that require open-heart surgery. Patients with: (1) Congenital cardiac diseases or undeveloped heart structures include hypoplastic left heart syndrome and atrial septal defect (heart hole), (2) coronary artery disease (CAD) or heart valve failure disease, (3) a thoracic aortic aneurysm, (4) Patients with coronary heart disease may need a coronary artery bypass graft (CABG).

In the case of coronary heart disease, the coronary artery that provides blood and oxygen to the heart muscle constricts and hardens; it is called a coronary heart problem. The hardening is caused by the formation of plaque inside the coronary artery walls and the blood flow is hampered by artery constriction.

The surgeon may elect an open-heart surgery or another minimally invasive bypass surgery based on the blockage numbers, size, and location in the cardiac arteries. The surgeon will evaluate the feasibility and the safest surgery depending on the patient’s clinical condition.

Diagnosing cardiac risks

During a cardiologist consultation, your doctor will recommend the Detailed Cardiac Risk Indicators Test to calculate the levels of cardiac risk markers in the body. The test aids in assessing heart function. The test also assesses lipid levels in the body, which can contribute to heart attacks or other severe cardiac diseases. Individuals with a family history of heart illness can benefit from the Cardiac Risk Markers Profile. Early detection of a heart problem can improve the overall prognosis.

Factors that affect cost

The cost of open-heart surgery in India is lower in India than in other nations. However, it is still relatively expensive for an average individual to afford the treatment. During a cardiologist consultation, specialists may advise individuals to invest in comprehensive medical insurance coverage early to maintain financial security. The benefits of health insurance go beyond only financial aid to provide peace of mind to policyholders who no longer have to worry about the expense of medical procedures, and instead, they can focus on getting the best treatment.

Because of the significant risk of the open-heart surgeries, the cost of open-heart surgery in India is proportionate to the risk factors. For the reasons cited, doctors during the cardiologist consultation only propose open-heart surgery when all other therapies have been exhausted.

Snapshot of the cost of open-heart surgery in India 

Factors that can directly affect the cost of open-heart surgery in India:

• Hospital type: A heart operation cost in India will primarily depend on whether the patient chooses a private or public hospital for their treatment. 
• Location: If the individual prefers open-heart surgery in a major city or a reputed hospital in a different country, the cost of the procedure will be significantly greater.
• Technology: The cost of open-heart surgery varies based on the technology used to execute the procedure. There are three basic types of open-heart surgeries: (1) On-Pump: (2) Off-Pump, and (3) Robot-Assisted. Each of the procedures is priced differently.
• Experience and certification of the surgeon: If an experienced surgeon conducts the open-heart surgery, their certification will also be a factor.
• Reimbursement or cashless: A crucial factor is whether the payment is made from your pocket or via your health insurance policy. If the hospital offers cashless treatment, the actual cash spent on treatment will be much lower compared to reimbursement plan. 
• Patient medical history: The patient’s medical history, the overall fitness or severity of the patient’s illness, and the type of procedure required affect the open-heart surgery‘s cost to a great extent.
• Room category: When calculating the entire cost of open-heart surgery, consider the room category, the reputation of the medical facility, and additional post-surgical fees.

Types of surgeries

The various forms of open-heart surgery and other heart operations are listed here.

• Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG): CABG, or coronary artery bypass surgery, is a method utilised to redirect blood flow around a blocked or partly occluded artery in the heart. A healthy blood vein or artery is extracted from your leg, arm, or chest and is joined to the clogged arteries in your heart by the surgeon. The operation establishes a new blood flow path to the muscle of the heart. 

Snapshot of cost of CABG in a Tier 1 city hospital.

• Heart valve repair or replacement: During this procedure, surgeons can repair or replace the cardiac valve with a valve made from a human heart tissue. Some surgeries even use a value made of tissues of a cow or a pig. A catheter is passed through a major blood channel towards the heart, where a tiny balloon at the catheter’s tip is inflated and deflated to enlarge a constricted valve.

Snapshot of cost of Valve Repair in a Tier 1 city hospital.

• Pacemaker or an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD): In the case when the patient suffers from arrhythmia, a disorder in which the heart beats too fast or slow, or too irregularly, the doctor recommends surgery. The doctor initially suggests medication treat the condition, but if the drug is ineffective, a surgeon may implant a pacemaker in the chest. In the procedure, the pacemaker is linked with wires to the heart. When a sensor detects an abnormal cardiac beat, the gadget controls it using electrical pulses. When an ICD identifies an abnormal arrhythmia, the sensor passes electric pulses to bring back the normal rhythm of the pacemaker.

                Snapshot of cost of LCD in a Tier 1 city hospital.

• Aneurysm Repair: An aortic aneurysm is a dilatation in the wall of a blood vessel, often an artery, caused by weakening or degeneration in a segment of the arterial wall. The aneurysm grows, straining the arterial walls thinner and is in danger of rupturing and producing fatal haemorrhage. The surgeon performs endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) to fix the condition. A stent graft is placed into the aneurysm via tiny incisions in the groin during the EVAR operation. The graft or stent graft is threaded into the aorta to the aneurysm by the surgeon. The graft is then inflated inside the aorta and secured to establish a stable blood flow channel. The graft strengthens the weakest segment of the aorta, preventing it from rupturing.

Snapshot of cost of Aneurysm Repair in a Tier 1 city hospital.

• Heart Transplant: A heart transplant is a surgical procedure that replaces a damaged heart with a healthy heart from a dead donor. Most heart transplants are performed on patients who have advanced heart failure. Heart failure ensues when the heart is too diseased or weak to pump the blood required by the body. Heart transplants are performed as a last resort for those suffering from heart failure. Donor hearts are in low supply, people requiring heart transplants are carefully screened. They must be ill enough to require a transplant, while yet being healthy enough to accept the organ.

Snapshot of cost of Heart Transplant in a Tier 1 city hospital.

*Note: Patients who have undergone a heart transplant may require 1-2 months to fully recover, depending on the patient’s immune system.

Risks of open-heart surgery

Any type of open-heart surgery carries hazards, infection, organ damage, heart attack, or stroke are possible outcomes. The degree of these dangers varies according to the individual. You will be briefed during a cardiologist consultation that people with a more advanced cardiac ailment are more likely to experience difficulties during and after surgery.

Future ready

Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the worldwide outcry has driven India to invest in healthcare research and innovation. And now, two years later, all the effort has paid off in the shape of better patient-doctor trust during a cardiologist consultation, newer technologies like AI and ML, and improved versions in various fields of medicine, particularly those that were side-lined during the epidemic but were made future-ready. Hospitals, for example, have established a specialised robot-assisted cardiac surgery programme to assist patients with complicated heart illnesses in receiving minimally invasive cardiac surgery. And, to keep up with the expanding tech-based manner of care and treatment, hospitals have accepted these with open arms, as well as to beef up and simplify their current structures and procedures. Also, after Covid, there was a full-fledged push to cut down the cost of all these technologies by significant margins to ensure that every discipline of medicine like cardiology remains at a level with the best in the world and innovative treatments become affordable, particularly in smaller towns and cities.