Cardiovascular Devices in India

With growing rates of heart disease, India is a major market  for the cardiovascular device industry.  32 million Indians have cardiac issues and surgeons perform over 300,000 angioplasties each year. The major cardiovascular device subcategories in India are:

• Diagnostic devices such as blood pressure monitors, EKG (ECG in British English) devices and arrhythmia detectors
• Circulatory support devices such as CPR devices, artificial hearts and compressible limb sleeves
• Interventional cardiology devices such as coronary stents, aortic stents and valve replacements
• Implantable electrophysiology devices such as pacemakers, nerve stimulators and miniature defibrillators
• Vascular surgery devices such as endovascular grafts, IVC filters and vascular clamps

The India Heart Watch study published at the World Congress of Cardiology in 2012, reported an epidemic of cardiovascular disease in India. Among the middle class, overweight and obesity was prevalent in 41 percent of Indian men and 45 percent of Indian women, high blood pressure in 33 percent of men and 30 percent of women and high cholesterol in one-quarter of all men and women. 34 percent of India’s men and 37 percent of India’s women also have diabetes according to the publication. The American College of Cardiology studied 68,196 patients from 10 cardiology outpatient departments in a 2015 pilot study as part of its Pinnacle India program. Hypertension was present in nearly 30 percent of Indians, followed by other risk factors including diabetes, current tobacco use and high cholesterol.

Major cities in India have modern private specialty hospitals to treat cardiovascular disease, such as the Asian Heart Institute in Mumbai, Narayana Hrudulaya in Bangalore and the B. M. Birla Heart Research Centre in Kolkata. Many general private hospitals such as Apollo and Fortis also offer cardiovascular services, as do hospitals run by various government organizations and those affiliated with medical college programs.

India has a shortage of heart doctors today — just 4,000 cardiologists and 1,200 cardiac surgeons in a population of over 1.2 billion. Surgeons such as Dr. Devi Shetty and Dr. Ramakant Panda are celebrities in India; both have been awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award.

There are some domestic Indian companies making cardiovascular diagnostic devices and stents such as Sahajanand and Opto Circuits.  As of 2014, the India cardiovascular device market is dominated by multinational players including Medtronic and Boston Scientific.