In a major relief for the state’s poor patients, Fortis-Escorts Dehradun Hospital began treating heart disease patients under Atal Ayushman Uttarakhand Yojana (AAUY) from Friday.

AAUY beneficiaries can now benefit from angiography, angioplasty, valve repair and bypass services at the hospital.

Senior cardiologist and head of the hospital’s Cathlab, Dr Irfan Yaqoob Bhat, told The Pioneer that three AAUY card holders were treated on day one.

He said coronary heart disease is caused by blockage of blood vessels. He said that all types of heart disease are treated in the hospital using the best technology. Dr Bhat said that over the past ten years, a total of 13,000 angiograms, 5,266 angioplasties and 2,700 heart disease in children have been performed in the hospital. The hospital has also treated over 2.80 lakh patients in its OPD.

The director of the Fortis-Escorts Avik Chauhan hospital establishment has declared that the hospital is a non-Covid-19 hospital.

The state government extended the contract with Fortis Hospital in March this year. The state health department had entered into a memorandum of understanding with Fortis Hospital in March 2011. Under the contract, an entire floor of the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya (Coronation) Hospital was handed over to the hospital. . The government had also provided other goods to the hospital.