Free heart care camp launched at St John's Hospital

Bengaluru: The Department of Cardiology at St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences launched a month-long free angiogram and angioplasty camp on Tuesday.

Twenty-five angioplasties and 100 angiograms will be conducted free of cost for poor patients under 55 years. Younger patients and breadwinners will be given preference, noted a release from the hospital.

Although the camp began a week ago, it was officially inaugurated on Tuesday by Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, who said that this would serve young adults — as more people in this age group are having heart attacks — and help their families cope with such an event without the high costs.

This will be conducted under the leadership of Dr Kiron Varghese, professor of cardiology at St John's Medical College Hospital.

This is his second camp; four years ago, his angioplasty camp helped 23 people. Based on their feedback, he decided to introduce angiograms, which can help detect blocks in coronary arteries, in this camp.

On average, angiograms can cost between Rs 15,000 and Rs 25,000, while an angioplasty can cost between Rs 1.2 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh per stent in hospitals.

If a block is detected in the arteries after an angiogram, an angioplasty will be conducted with drug-coated stents placed afterwards.

Dr Varghese had also set up a special cardiology poor patients' fund nearly 20 years ago to enable more needy patients to avail complete cardiac treatment.

Patients seeking free treatment do not have to produce any documents as proof of their economic status, he said.

To register, patients can either visit the doctor at the hospital's OPD on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, or contact 080-22065615/[phone], or send an email to [e-mail].