Coronary Artery Bypass: A Life Changing Procedure Abroad

Coronary Artery Bypass is a type of surgery performed to treat coronary artery disease, a heart disease that affects a significant part of the general population.

For every human being the heart pumps blood to every organ yet it requires blood supply of its own in order to function. This blood supply is delivered by the coronary arteries and veins. In a normal person, coronary arteries function optimally supplying adequate blood and oxygen to the musculature of the heart. However, a person with coronary artery disease has mal-functioning coronary arteries because they have become narrowed and their walls hardened. As a result, this patient will experience chest pain called angina and also develop heart failure whereby the heart cannot pump adequate blood to the entire body. At such a stage of the disease, coronary artery bypass surgery is needed to help correct the symptoms and improve the patient’s quality of life.

The mechanism by which this corrective surgery provides treatment is basically to bypass the narrowed and hardened areas of the arteries in order to enhance blood supply to the heart itself.

The procedure entails removal of a piece of a healthy blood vessel and attaching it to the coronary artery around the area that is narrowed. Usually this piece is derived from one of the veins in the leg or from an artery in the chest. This manipulation creates a conduit through which blood can get around the blockage and provide adequate supply to the artery’s area of distribution. Indeed this is a highly beneficial surgery with excellent results and for this reason it is a costly procedure. The expertise needed to perform it, the superiority of technology needed to facilitate it and the delicate nature of the surgery all contribute to making it expensive.

Looking at this scenario, there must be an easier way out in the quest for seeking affordable coronary artery bypass surgery. Medical Care Abroad comes to the rescue by offering this surgery at affordable rates. Rapidly and widely gaining acceptance among many Americans, medical tourism offers a worthy alternative to expensive treatment at home without compromising the quality of care. The task is simply to find a reputable and established organization for medical tourism. International Med Retreat is one such organization through which anyone in dire demand of high quality medical and surgical care abroad can access it easily and affordably.

     International Med Retreat offers Coronary Artery Bypass surgery in Poland and Costa Rica. In Poland, the treatment is available in 14 modern clinics across the country which forms part of the franchise known as American Heart of Poland.

One of them, the Bielsko-Biala is an extremely modern cardiac surgery clinic fully equipped with essential and state-of the art equipment needed to perform highly specialized cardiac surgeries by the best specialists in Poland and in Europe. The surgery is also performed at Clinica Biblica in Costa Rica where the same high standard quality of care is offered.

Tracy McManamon on Google+

How to Decide if Medical Travel is Right for You

Traveling abroad in search of medical treatment is a trend that has grown progressively over the last few years.

A decade ago, making trips into foreign countries for the sake of medical care was a luxury of the rich. These are the people who had the financial capacity to arrange for air-travel, accommodation and pay for their treatment no matter how expensive it was. Over time, this has changed and now, it is possible for people in many different financial situations to access quality treatment abroad.

There are several factors that have contributed to this positive change towards greater accessibility of medical treatment abroad. Different countries across the globe have established themselves as centers of excellence in terms of delivery of quality healthcare. Some of them are countries that ten or twenty years ago were not considered choice locations in which to treatment.

However, they have risen in rank by building top quality world-class facilities, making use of the latest technological advancements in the field of medicine and dentistry and by acquiring medical personnel that have been expertly trained in some of the best institutions in the world, including in most cases some prestigious U.S. medical and dental institutions.

Secondly, travelling abroad is now much easier thanks to the affordability of air-travel. Airlines have expanded their destinations and flights and as a result of competition in the market, they all strive to offer the most attractive and affordable rates for the consumer.

Another significant factor that continues to propel more and more people into embracing medical tourism is the increasing cost of medical treatment at home while the quality of care deteriorates and waiting lines for treatment continue to grow. Moreover, people who esteem their privacy would prefer to undergo treatment away from home and familiar surroundings. Similarly, receiving treatment far from home has the advantage of allowing adequate time for recuperation away from the demands of everyday life at home. So, in light of all these factors, it is becoming increasingly popular to travel abroad for hip and knee replacements, dental treatment, bariatric surgery and prostate cancer treatment such as the High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) procedure.

The appeal that medical tourism has to offer should not overshadow the reasoning as to whether it is right for you or not. Travelling overseas still places a certain level of demand on the patient; it is a foreign country, the language spoken there may be different, the intricacies of air travel. The following are questions to help you weigh the options and decide what is appropriate for you.

Am I strong enough to travel?

The state of your health should help you determine if your body can handle travelling, especially a long-distance. Simple procedures like dental implants may not stress the body any further but major treatment like a hip replacement may require more care while travelling. There is a need to find out whether you will be well enough to travel back home after treatment. A helpful approach would be to travel to destinations closer home when seeking treatment that will require multiple trips. In case you need expert advice, consult a physician at home to help you assess if you are well enough to travel.

Does my schedule allow for flexibility?

It is important to make sure that there is room to alter your schedule to incorporate the demands of treatment, which could mean a longer hospital stay, and some rehab if necessary.

Is it possible to have someone travel with me?

It is always better to be accompanied by someone when travelling overseas for treatment. Although this will increase the cost to some degree, it is of great benefit to the patient to have a companion.

Am I financially prepared to pay for the treatment?

Many of the U.S. health insurance carriers will not readily cover elective procedures abroad. In some cases financing is available but not always, so patients should be financially prepared.

Can I find time to do some research?

This is a very important step because it helps you identify the right country of destination and the right facility that will provide treatment catered to your specific needs. It requires searching for information that provides an evaluation of the facility’s performance before setting out on your trip abroad.


Tracy McManamon on Google+