There are several diseases that could ail the organs in our body. Some of those diseases could be taken care of with medication of few days, some with prolonged treatment, other with surgery and a very fee that demand the organ be transplanted. Hospitals around the world do their best to tackle these issues in their patients on an every day basis.

And before these treatments are deployed, the patients need to be tested and diagnosed to pin point the ailment accurately. So, when a person develops symptoms and present themselves to a physician/doctor, they narrow down the possible causes, refer the patient to a diagnostician who performs the test, the results of which are analysed and the ailment is identified or the testing continues.

And all of these, the tests and diagnostics tools required for them may cost anywhere from a few hundred to many thousands. Apart from this, the doctor and the diagnostician, depending on their expertise, need to be paid as well. This is what rakes up to a part of the bill shown to the caretakers of the patient. And, this makes it difficult to run clinics or hospitals that can care for the patients for free.

Despite these odds, there are a few hospitals that run successfully while providing their patients with free or low-cost care/ treatment all the while giving the utmost care needed. These are especially rare to find for a particular niche of problems – namely the heart alone, the cardiovascular kind. These hospitals accept donations from individuals, organisations, charities or support from the government to run smoothly and to provide the necessary care for those who need it.

Here is a list of hospitals that provide free/ budget-friendly/ low-cost treatment for people with cardiac diseases.
• The Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery in Sudan provides free cardiac treatment ( medicines and surgeries) for everyone.
• Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Centre and Aswan Heart Centre in Cairo, Egypt work with the Magdi Yacoub Global Heart Foundation to treat patients with any severity of cardiac disease for free, especially children.
• Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani Hospitals spread across India, treat paediatric patients with heart trouble for absolutely no cost.
• Bambino Gesù Hospital in Italy provides free care for children who need treatments. Located in the Vatican City it also aids children in many war-hit countries.
• Great Ormond Street Hospital in the UK works with many NGOs to provide care for Paediatric patients in the country and from around the world.
• Doctors Without Borders around the globe work with local hospitals to provide free care for all patients who need treatment.
• Aga Khan University Hospital, Pakistan offers free or very low cost treatments to cardiac patients.
• Narayana Health in India provides low cost or free treatments especially to children from the marginalised class.

Some charities and NGOs ( Non Government Organizations) also take in patients with cardiac diseases. They work with different hospitals and take care of the financial needs of underprivileged patients. Here are some of them –
• World Heart Federation
• Child Heart Foundation
• Hearts for Hearts
• Healing Little Hearts
• Indian Heart Association
• Chain of Hope
• The Children’s Heart Fund of Ethiopia
• Direct Relief
• Global Heart Hub

Additionally, listed below is the programs run by top hospitals for cardiac treatment in world to subsidize the bill of the patient.
• Cleveland Clinic (Cleveland, USA)
– Charity Care Program
– Financial Assistance
• Mayo Clinic (Rochester, USA)
– Financial Assistance Program
– Mayo Clinic Patient Assistance Fund
• Mount Sinai Hospital (New York, USA)
– Mount Sinai Financial Assistance Program
– Sliding Scale Payment Plans
• Texas Heart Institute (Houston, USA)
– St. Luke’s Health Financial Assistance Program** (in collaboration with Texas Heart Institute)
– Medicaid/Medicare Assistance
• Royal Brompton Hospital (London, UK)
– National Health Service (NHS) Funded Care
– International Patient Financial Aid
• Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore, USA)
– Johns Hopkins Financial Assistance Program
– Medical Debt Relief
• Bumrungrad International Hospital (Bangkok, Thailand)
– Subsidized Programs for Thai Citizens
– Charity Outreach
• Asklepios Klinik St. Georg (Hamburg, Germany)
– Germany’s Statutory Health Insurance
– Financial Aid for International Patients
• Apollo Hospitals (Chennai, India)
– Apollo Foundation’s “Save a Child’s Heart” Program
– Subsidized Treatment for Low-Income Patients
• The Heart Hospital at Baylor (Dallas, USA)
– Baylor Scott & White Financial Assistance Program
– Medicare/Medicaid Support

Please note that these programs, charities, NGOs or hospitals have certain terms and conditions to avail the financial benefit.