Heart attacks: Costs decide care

With cardiovascular diseases going up due to stress, changing lifestyles, unhealthy diets, fin burden of treatment continues to grow

- Amit Srivastava

When 52-year-old Ramesh Patil (name changed), a taxi driver from the city’s eastern suburbs, collapsed with severe chest pain, his family rushed him to a nearby private hospital, hoping timely treatment would save his life. Doctors advised an urgent angioplasty, estimating the cost at around Rs2.5 lakh. With limited savings and a modest health insurance cover of Rs2 lakh, the family agreed.

However, within 48 hours, the bill escalated to over Rs4.2 lakh due to ICU charges, additional investigations, medicines, and the use of an imported stent that was not fully covered by insurance. Unable to arrange the remaining amount, the family was forced to discontinue treatment at the private hospital and shift Ramesh to a government facility. The delay worsened his condition, leaving him with permanent heart damage.

The episode highlights how the high and unpredictable cost of cardiac treatment in Mumbai often makes continued care impossible for ordinary families, even during life-threatening emergencies.

The rising cost of heart surgeries has emerged as a serious barrier for thousands of patients, pushing lifesaving treatment beyond reach. Dr Parin Sangoi, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai Central, said that the use of complex procedures, advanced technology, specialised equipment, and highly trained medical teams significantly drives up costs.