Almost 66 per cent of blood supply to the heart is supplied via the left coronary artery, with blockages leading to cardiac arrest. In most cases, the patient's condition deteriorates too quickly to administer treatment in time.

Dr Ashwin Mehta, Director of Cardiology at Jaslok Hospital, who has made the breakthrough, says the results of bypass surgery and balloon angioplasty have not been very encouraging. In 50 per cent of cases, the blockages recur with other complications. However, using the stent (a metallic coil) will make all thedifference now, explained Dr Mehta, who is also president of the Cardiology Society of India. The method involves inserting a catheter through the thigh. A thin guidewire reaches the site of the blockage closely monitored under X-ray after which a balloon, mounted on the guidewire, is inflated on reaching the site, thus fragmenting the blockage. The balloon is deflated, a stent is mounted on it, and the balloon is again re-inflated. After the stent is firmly fixed at the site, the balloon is withdrawn, and the cardiologist and his team have about 15-20 seconds to complete the surgery. The patient is kept under observance in the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU) for twenty four hours, and after a few days of rest, his life quickly gets back to normal. Dr Mehta claims that of the 13 cases he has treated in the last one and a half years, none has resulted in death, with only one patient suffering a recurrence.