An insurance offer by an Indian manufacturer of drug-eluting stents could prove to be a lifesaver for people with blocked arteries.

A drug-eluting stent is an artificial implant that stops further blocking of a coronary artery following an angioplasty.

?This is a unique initiative that will help patients immensely. We welcome the move,? was how Manotosh Panja, director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at SSKM Hospital, hailed the decision by Sahajanand Medical Technologies Pvt Ltd to insure patients against further blocking of the artery after an implant.

The company claims to be one of the few manufacturers of quality drug-eluting stents in the country. It recently received the CE approval, which allows it to sell stents in European countries.

?In case of blocking of the artery within six months of the first angioplasty, we will bear the cost of the second surgery,? declared Asit Sanghrajka, director (eastern region) of the company.

The cost of angioplasty is high in the city. ?The bill comes to around Rs 80,000 in the government hospitals. The amount is considerably higher in private hospitals,? Panja said. ?In four to eight per cent of the cases, there?s a recurrence of artery blockage within six months of the stent insertion,? the doctor added.

On an average, around 250 angioplasty surgeries are conducted in the city every month. ?Almost half of the stents used in the surgeries are ours,? Sanghrajka claimed.

City cardiologist and president of Cardiological Society of India Ashoke Kumar Kar said the decision to insure patients against artery blockage is a first in the country. ?This is really praiseworthy. Even a middle-class man has to spend a considerable portion of his life?s savings to undergo a surgery to implant a drug-eluting stent. A recurrence of blockage can hit him really hard. An insurance will not only save his life but help him avoid a severe financial crisis,? he added.

A stent manufactured by Sahajanand costs about Rs 70,000. Foreign-make models are priced at over a lakh of rupees.

?There are only four other Indian companies that have the CE authorisation for drug-eluting stents. In other parts of the globe, 36 more companies have obtained the authorisation. Our stents are currently available in 28 countries. We plan to expand to 140 countries,? revealed Manish Doshi, chief executive officer of Sahajanand. According to him, the company has plans to set up a stent-manufacturing unit in Bengal.