Heart treatment in India for Kenyan patients

Start with the reports you already have

Most Kenyan cardiac cases arrive with more information than the family realises: an ECG, an echocardiogram report, often a coronary angiography film or CD, and a medication list. That is usually enough for a cardiologist to give you a considered opinion remotely: whether the advised intervention is in line with accepted practice, whether a stent or surgery is the sensible route for your anatomy, and what a second look would add. A $50 video consultation or a $150 written second opinion gets that answered while you are still at home, and sometimes the honest conclusion is that your treatment plan in Kenya is already the right one. We would rather tell you that than coordinate a trip you do not need.

What the SHA cap means for a cardiac case

As of April 2026, SHA funding for overseas treatment is capped at KSh 500,000 per patient per year, limited to a listed set of procedures unavailable in Kenya, and usable only at a short list of approved overseas hospitals. Confirm your own position directly with SHA before planning around it. Open-heart surgery bills sit well above that ceiling, so most families we speak to are funding the larger share themselves, often through a family committee, a harambee or an M-Changa campaign. That is precisely the situation where an itemized quote and a published facilitation fee earn their keep: the people raising the money can read every line, and nothing is hidden inside a package price.

Cardiac quotes are where padding hides

A cardiac quote has more moving parts than almost any other: the procedure itself, the stent count and type, a valve or device model, ICU days, perfusion, blood products, and the medicines you go home on. A single-line "package" hides all of it, and it is where quote inflation is easiest to bury. Every quote we obtain for you is itemized by the hospital, with the implant or device named and priced as its own line, so a change in your case is a change you can see. You pay the hospital directly on its own invoice, at the rates locked in writing before you travel. We never hold treatment money, and our fee is invoiced separately.

Visa, flights, and timing around an admission date

Kenyan nationals apply online for the Indian e-Medical visa, with no embassy queue, and up to two family members can apply for linked e-Medical Attendant visas, which matters when a cardiac admission means someone staying for the whole stretch. Rules change, so confirm the current terms on the official Indian visa portal when you apply; we coordinate the hospital invitation letter your application needs and hand you a checklist. Nairobi–Mumbai is a direct route flown most days of the week, so travel can be planned around a confirmed admission date rather than around scarce seats, with our travel arm Tripcuro handling flights, airport pickup and accommodation near the hospital.

What to prepare

• Your most recent ECG and echocardiogram reports, and the angiography report or CD if one has been done
• A current list of every medicine and dose, including blood thinners, and any known allergies
• A referral or summary letter from your treating cardiologist in Kenya, if you have one
• Recent blood work (kidney function, blood count, HbA1c), since these shape what a surgeon can safely plan
• A funding plan naming who is paying and how the money reaches the hospital directly, whether that is family, a committee or an M-Changa campaign
• The two or three questions you most want answered, written down before the consultation