Your heart keeps the blood moving in your body through arteries and veins and provides nutrients to your organs. With increased age, a fatty substance may start sticking to your artery walls until they harden. Due to these hardened or blocked arteries, the blood flow can slow down, impacting other body parts. To reduce such risks, a cardiologist may suggest an open–chest CABG surgery. Let us understand what it means and how much a typical bypass surgery costs.

What is CABG?

Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting (CABG) is an open–heart procedure wherein the chest is cut open to perform bypass surgery. The surgeon attaches or grafts a new and healthy artery or vein to a clogged coronary artery. The attached artery bypasses the blocked artery to supply fresh blood to the heart. The chest is sown back using metal wires or plates in some instances.

The coronary artery is responsible for pumping fresh blood to the heart. When fat builds up along the walls of the artery, they get clogged and cannot supply fresh blood to the heart. Therefore, people with coronary heart disease can benefit from undergoing the CABG procedure.

Open heart bypass surgery cost in India

An open–heart coronary artery bypass surgery is a lengthy, invasive, and expensive procedure. In India, the CABG surgery costs can range anywhere between Rs 100,000 and Rs 450,000 or more, depending on the severity of the patient’s condition. The costs also depend on various subjective factors such as:

• The surgeon’s experience
• The hospital where the patient chooses to undergo the surgery
• The type of metal used for reinforcing the breastbone

For instance, titanium plates, wires and screws are generally more expensive than stainless steel ones, which can increase the bypass surgery price.

How to finance an open–heart bypass surgery in India?

While an open–heart CABG can reduce the risk of a heart attack, it is an expensive procedure. However, you can easily manage the CABG surgery costs if you have a medical insurance policy. You could use your health insurance policy to pay for various expenses associated with the CABG procedure. The insurance plan typically covers you against the following.

• Hospitalisation: The insurance plan covers the hospitalisation or room rent cost wherein the insurance company pays up to a pre–determined percentage of the sum insured.
• Diagnostics: It covers you against the costs incurred for various tests and reports requested by your physician in the pre–and post–hospitalisation phase.
• Medication: The health insurance policy also covers you against the cost of medicines used during the surgery.
• Doctor Fees: The charges levied by the surgeon, anaesthetics, etc., are also covered under health insurance.

A health insurance policy covers you against various medical conditions and ailments, including coronary bypass procedures. It essentially allows you to manage the high medical costs without depleting your savings. The insurance plan covers almost all costs associated with the treatment up to the sum insured promised by the insurance company. Since a medical contingency can strike at any time, investing in medical insurance can prove to be a prudent choice.