The Dr. B R Ambedkar Memorial Medical College Hospital, Chhattisgarh's biggest, successfully carried out 7,177 heart related surgeries, including complex ones, between 2013 to June 2020.

After acquiring the       private Fortis Escorts Heart Centre in November 2017, the cardiology department of the Raipur-based hospital has created a record in               performing surgeries,        hospital officials said. 

The 7,177 surgeries include angiography,       angioplasty, bypass and installing pace makers.

The majority of these operations are supported by government-funded schemes such as ‘Dr Khubchand Baghel Health Assistance Scheme’, 'Mukhyamantri Vishesh Swasthya Sahayata Yojana', ‘Ayushman Bharat Scheme’ and others, Dr. Smit Shrivastava, Head of Department, Cardiology, told The Pioneer over phone on Monday.   

"We have successfully operated patients whose age range from 20 days to 102 years," he said.

According to government records, the Cath Lab unit was started in the hospital in 2009. It then used to provide angioplasty services to 41 patients per annum.

In 2013, its angiography capacity increased to 110 patients a year and now the number had touched 1,600, added Dr Shrivastava.

The cardiology unit is presently equipped with an advanced 2D-3D machine and provides Electrophysiology Studies (EPS) facility to critical patients, the doctor said.

"We have a dedicated team of doctors in our        cardiology department and our objective is to establish the unit as the premier      institution in cardiology in India," he said.

The “Advance Cardiac Institute” bagged the      national-level Scotch Order of Merit Award in 2018 for its best management in medical practices, said another doctor.