Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan will start a cath lab where cardiac procedures like angioplasty and angiogram will be performed at a cost less than at corporate hospitals, the authorities said on Tuesday.

The cath lab is coming up at the Swami Vivekananda Diagnostic and Cardiac Centre, the newest addition to the Sarat Bose Road hospital run by the Ramakrishna Math and Mission.

Procedures like coronary bypass surgery will start at the new centre within three months, hospital secretary Swami Satyadevananda said.

The cath lab is likely to be operational by the middle of March.

"An angioplasty with two days' intensive care and a one-day stay in a normal ward would cost Rs 35,000, excluding the price of the stent, at our hospital," Swami Satyadevananda said.

Similar packages vary between Rs 50,000 and Rs 100,000 at other private hospitals in Calcutta.

An angiogram at the Seva Pratishthan would cost around Rs 6,500-Rs 7,000, the authorities said. At other private hospitals, it varies between Rs 12,000 and Rs 19,000. An angiogram at government hospitals costs between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000.

Saumitra Ray, the secretary of the Cardiological Society of India, said there were around 20 centres with cath lab facilities in Calcutta. "There is a demand for more, especially such cath labs where procedures are performed at a relatively cheaper rate."

According to figures released by the Centre in 2013-2014, around 19 per cent of all deaths are caused by coronary artery diseases.

Swami Satyadevananda said the culture ministry had granted the hospital Rs 18.53 crore in 2014 in response to an application.

"The money was spent on setting up the cardiac care centre. Along with the cath lab that cost us Rs 3 three lakh at a subsidised rate, we have built a 15-bed coronary care unit and a high dependency unit. An intensive care unit for cardio-thoracic surgery is coming up at the hospital," said Swami Satyadevananda.

Swami Sarvalokananda, the secretary of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Mumbai, is likely to be present on the occasion of the unveiling of the Swami Vivekananda Diagnostic and Cardiac Centre on Sunday.

The building will also house the OPDs of some departments, investigation facilities, a blood bank and blood component unit and the department of pathology, microbiology, histopathology and biochemistry.