Cost effectiveness and less waiting time bring foreigners to Bengaluru for heart treatments.
The rate of medical tourists visiting Bengaluru for heart treatments has gone up. Official figures show that in 2023, 1300-1400 visas for medical patients and their attenders have been approved. Around 12 percent are heart patients.
An official explained, “Around 140 medical patients with attenders visit every month in which 40 percent are medical patients and the rest 60 percent are medical attenders.”
“Around 100 international patients visit Apollo hospital on monthly basis with their attenders but only half stay for operations,”said Mithoon, Assistant Manager of International Patient Service Department, Apollo Hospitals, Amalodbhavi Nagar.
Mithoon said that not all patients come for treatments, they also come to get tests done. If the tests do not throw up any major problem, they return home.
The government official said that a large number of tourists come from Yemen and Bangladesh. They contribute to 40 and 20 percent of medical tourists to the city. Other countries that send medical tourists are Oman,, Ethiopia, Iraq, Kuwait, Maldives, Sri Lanka and African nations like Tanzania.
“People from these countries visit Bengaluru for cardiac issues such as damaged valves and holes in the heart”, said Dr. Vithal D Bagi, Senior Consultant and Interventional Cardiologist, Apollo Hospital.
“Cardiology treatment cost in India is low compared to other countries and this is the main reason why foreign people come to Bengaluru for their treatment, which has become the hub for the heart treatment,” said Dr. Bagi.
Carol, a patient’s daughter, who came from Tanzania said , “We came all the way from Tanzania because it was costly in our country and my father was not getting any results, so we decided to come to India for his bypass surgery.”
United States (U.S.) and United Kingdom (U.K.) have experienced doctors and so does India. But the difference lies in waiting time. Dr. Bagi said that, “We do heart surgery of patients within 90 minutes from Angioplasty. This way patient’s time is saved and also ours.”
India is ranked as the tenth most popular medical tourism destination in the world, according to the Medical Tourism Index.
