Heart treatment in India: procedures, cost and hospital stay

Main procedures: Bypass surgery, angioplasty, valve replacement, pacemaker, congenital repair
Indicative cost: From $3,800 for a single-stent angioplasty; $4,600 for bypass surgery
Hospital stay: 2 to 3 days for a stent; 6 to 7 days for open-heart surgery
Time in India: Usually 2 to 3 weeks in total, including recovery before you fly
Children: ASD, VSD, PDA and tetralogy of Fallot repairs are routine work here
First step: A free video consultation with a cardiologist who reads your angiogram and echo

The main heart procedures, in plain words

Heart problems fall into a few broad groups, and each group has its own set of treatments. Knowing which group you are in makes the rest of this page, and your consultation, much easier to follow.

Blocked arteries

The arteries feeding the heart muscle narrow with fatty deposits, causing chest pain or a heart attack. Treated with angioplasty and stents for limited disease, or bypass surgery when several arteries are involved.

Faulty valves

A valve either fails to open properly or leaks backwards, so the heart works harder than it should. Treated by repairing the valve, replacing it with a mechanical or tissue valve, or in some cases fitting a new valve through a catheter without opening the chest.

Rhythm problems

The heart beats too slowly, too fast or irregularly. Treated with a pacemaker, an implantable defibrillator, or an ablation that burns away the small patch of tissue causing the abnormal rhythm.

Heart defects from birth

A hole between the chambers, a vessel that should have closed at birth, or a more complex malformation. Most are correctable with one operation, and the results are best when it is done early in childhood.

What decides which treatment you need

Patients often arrive having already been told "you need bypass" or "you need a stent", and sometimes those two opinions come from two different doctors. Both can be defensible. The decision rests on how many arteries are narrowed, where the narrowings sit, whether you are diabetic, and how well the heart muscle is pumping.

As a rough guide, a single narrowing in an accessible position is usually stented, while disease in all three main arteries, disease at the origin of the left main artery, or blocked arteries in someone with diabetes more often does better with surgery. Your ejection fraction, the percentage of blood the heart pushes out with each beat, is the other number that shapes the plan. None of this can be settled from a description over the phone, which is why the consultation starts with the cardiologist actually looking at your angiogram film rather than a summary of it.

If you have been told you need surgery and you want that opinion tested before you commit to travelling, say so plainly at the consultation. A second opinion that confirms the plan is just as useful as one that changes it, and either way you will understand your own heart better.

What heart treatment costs in India

These are indicative package prices from our partner hospitals, with the expected hospital stay beside each one. For someone flying in, the stay column matters as much as the price: it decides how long you need accommodation, how long a companion must be away from work, and when you can safely fly home.

Indicative partner-hospital package prices, USD, as at July 2026.
Procedure	Indicative cost	Hospital stay
Angioplasty, single stent	$3,800	3 days
Angioplasty, two stents	$4,500	3 days
Balloon angioplasty	$5,000	Short stay
Bypass surgery (CABG)	$4,600	6–7 days
Bypass, minimally invasive (MICS)	$5,800	6–7 days
Aortic valve replacement, mechanical / tissue	$4,500 / $7,500	6–7 days
Mitral valve replacement, mechanical / tissue	$4,500 / $8,000	6–7 days
Double valve replacement, mechanical / tissue	$8,500 / $10,000	5–6 days
Bypass plus valve replacement	$7,000–7,500	5–6 days
TAVI, valve fitted through a catheter	$25,000–32,000	2–3 days
Pacemaker, single / dual chamber	$4,500 / $6,000	2–4 days
Implantable defibrillator, single / dual	$9,500 / $15,000	Short stay
CRT-D (resynchronisation defibrillator)	$16,000	5 days
EP study and ablation, 2D / 3D mapping	$3,600 / $6,200	3 days
ASD closure, open / minimally invasive	$5,000 / $6,000	4 days
VSD closure	$5,500	4–5 days
PDA closure	$5,400	2 days
Tetralogy of Fallot repair	$5,500	4–5 days
Aortic aneurysm repair	$8,500	Extended
TEVAR (stent graft for the aorta)	$22,000	5 days
Endovascular stenting	$15,000	6 days
LVAD (HeartMate 3 pump)	$125,000	30 days

How to read these figures. They are indicative package prices from partner hospitals, current as at July 2026, given so you can plan rather than guess. They are not a quotation. What the package includes: hospital charges, the surgeon's fee, medicines given during your stay, and any implants and consumables. In cardiac work that last point carries real money, because the stent, the valve or the pacemaker itself is one of the largest items on the bill and is the item most often left out of a quote elsewhere. Not included: pre-operative investigations, flights, visa, accommodation outside the hospital stay, or treatment for complications. Your written estimate follows a cardiologist's review of your reports. No part of it is a fee to us; the hospital pays us, so your bill is never marked up.

What moves the number

How many stents, or how many grafts. Angioplasty is priced by the number of stents. Bypass surgery is not priced per graft in the same way, which is part of why multi-vessel disease often works out better value as surgery.
Mechanical or tissue valve. A mechanical valve costs less and lasts longer, but commits you to blood-thinning tablets and regular blood tests for life. A tissue valve costs more and wears out sooner, but usually avoids lifelong anticoagulation. Where you live, and how easily you can get a monthly blood test, is a genuine part of this decision.
Open chest or through a catheter. TAVI avoids opening the chest and cuts the stay to two or three days, but the valve device itself makes it several times the price of a surgical replacement. It is normally reserved for patients who are high risk for open surgery.
2D or 3D mapping for an ablation. Three-dimensional mapping nearly doubles the cost and is used for the more complex rhythm problems, not as an upgrade for its own sake.
Complications. Uncommon in a planned procedure on a stable patient, but they extend both the stay and the cost, which is why no honest package can be called a guaranteed final price.

Heart surgery for children

A large share of the cardiac patients who travel to India are children, and the conditions are usually the ones in the table above: a hole between the upper chambers (ASD), a hole between the lower chambers (VSD), a vessel that should have closed at birth (PDA), or tetralogy of Fallot. These are not exotic operations in India's paediatric cardiac units. They are done week in and week out, by surgeons who operate on children exclusively.

Two things are worth knowing before you plan. First, timing matters: many defects do best when repaired in infancy or early childhood, and delay can allow lung pressure to rise to the point where surgery is no longer safe, so an early opinion is worth more than a cheap one. Second, a child travels on a medical visa with parents on medical attendant visas, so plan the paperwork for the whole family together. Our medical visa guide covers the documents.

How long you will be in India

Before you fly. Your reports are reviewed on video, the hospital issues a written estimate and a visa invitation letter, and a date is held.
Arrival and workup. Two to four days for pre-operative investigations: blood tests, repeat echo, dental check and anaesthetic assessment. These are billed separately from the package.
The procedure and hospital stay. Two to three days for a stent, five to seven for open-heart surgery, of which the first day or two is in intensive care.
Recovery before flying. Usually one to two weeks nearby after discharge from open-heart surgery, with a review and a fitness-to-fly clearance before you book the return flight. After a stent it is normally a matter of days.
Follow-up from home. Reviews continue by video once you are back, and your medication list goes with you in writing.

Total time in India: plan on around two weeks for angioplasty, and three to four weeks for open surgery. Do not book a fixed return flight before the surgical team has cleared you to fly. Cabin pressure after chest surgery is not a detail to improvise.

Where heart treatment is done

Cardiac work needs a catheterisation lab, dedicated cardiac theatres, a cardiac intensive care unit and a perfusion team in one building, plus the volume to keep all of it sharp. Our partner network includes accredited multi-speciality hospitals with exactly that, and several have separate paediatric cardiac units. Which one suits you depends on the procedure and on which surgeon is right for the case. See our partner hospitals.

Start from your procedure

If you already know which operation has been proposed, these guides go into the detail: what it involves, what it costs, how long you stay, and the questions worth asking.

Bypass surgery (CABG) New routes around blocked arteries, using your own vessels. Open or minimally invasive, and when it beats stenting. Angioplasty and stents Blockages opened through a wrist or groin artery, no chest incision. Priced per stent, and home within days. Valve repair and replacement Mechanical against tissue valves, the blood-thinner question, and when TAVI can replace a valve without surgery.

Pacemakers, defibrillators, ablations, aortic and congenital surgery are all covered in a teleconsultation even where there is no separate page yet.

Questions patients ask

How much does heart surgery cost in India?

Bypass surgery starts at an indicative $4,600 and valve replacement at $4,500 for a mechanical valve, with a hospital stay of six to seven days. Angioplasty with a single stent is around $3,800. These are partner-hospital package prices as at July 2026, including the implant and the surgeon's fee, and your own figure follows a cardiologist's review of your angiogram and echo.

Do I need bypass surgery or a stent?

It depends on how many arteries are narrowed and where, whether you are diabetic, and how well your heart muscle is pumping. Single, accessible narrowings are usually stented; disease in all three main arteries or at the left main artery more often does better with surgery. A cardiologist needs to see the angiogram film itself, not a report of it, to answer this properly.

Which is better, a mechanical or a tissue valve?

Neither is better in general, only better for a particular person. A mechanical valve lasts longer but requires blood-thinning tablets and regular monitoring for life. A tissue valve usually avoids that but wears out after some years and may need replacing. Your age, your plans for pregnancy, and how easily you can get regular blood tests at home all count in the decision.

How long do I need to stay in India for heart surgery?

Plan on three to four weeks in total for open-heart surgery: a few days of pre-operative tests, six to seven days in hospital, and one to two weeks recovering nearby before the team clears you to fly. Angioplasty is much shorter, usually around two weeks in total. Do not book a fixed return flight until you have fitness-to-fly clearance.

Can my child have heart surgery in India?

Yes. Repairs for ASD, VSD, PDA and tetralogy of Fallot are routine in India's paediatric cardiac units, with indicative prices from $5,000 to $6,000 and stays of two to five days. Timing matters for children, so get an opinion early rather than waiting. Parents travel on medical attendant visas alongside the child's medical visa.

Is the stent or valve included in the price?

Yes. Implants and consumables are inside the partner-hospital package price, which in cardiac work is a significant point, because the device is one of the biggest single items and is the one most often quoted separately elsewhere. Pre-operative investigations are the main thing that sits outside the package.

Can I have a second opinion before agreeing to surgery?

Yes, and it is a good use of the consultation. Send the angiogram, echo and ECG, and a cardiologist will tell you what they would advise and why. If they agree with the plan you were given at home, you travel with more confidence. If they disagree, you have learned something important before spending anything.