Bypass, valve, stent and rhythm procedures at accredited Colombian hospitals, often for a fraction of what the same surgery costs in the US. We show you published prices, how long you will really need to stay, what altitude means for your heart, and when traveling is the wrong call.
Published private-pay range for bypass surgery in Colombia, 2026. Pennsylvania hospitals billed an average of about $262K.
Median wait from GP referral to elective cardiac surgery in Canada, per the Fraser Institute's 2025 physician survey.
Medellín's elevation. A plane's cabin is pressurized to as high as 2,438 m on the flight in.
Colombia's health-system rank in WHO's World Health Report 2000, the last time WHO ranked countries.
A stent is about a week. Open-heart surgery is most of a month. Here is what each one costs in Colombia, how long you are in hospital, and the earliest published date you can fly home.
Open-heart surgerySurgeons reroute blood around blocked coronary arteries using a vessel taken from your chest, arm or leg.
ValveOpen surgical replacement of the aortic valve, or a catheter-delivered valve (TAVR) through an artery in the groin.
TAVR savings are smaller: the imported valve is a large share of the cost.
CatheterA balloon opens a narrowed artery and a small mesh tube holds it open. No chest incision.
DevicesA pacemaker keeps a slow heart on rhythm; an ICD can shock a dangerous rhythm back to normal.
Pacemaker savings can be small. We show the overlap instead of hiding it.
RhythmCatheters create small scars that block the stray signals driving atrial fibrillation.
PreventionECG, stress test and cardiology review for people without known heart disease. A calcium score can be added; we found no published Colombian price for one.
Every figure below is a published range with its source, not a quote. Your real price depends on the hospital, your anatomy, and what the quote includes.
Ranges, not quotes. "Thin data" means the Colombian figure rests on one or two published sources, so treat it as a starting point. Device-heavy procedures appear to save the least, likely because the imported device is a large, fixed share of the cost. COP converted at 3,306.86 per USD (TRM, September 28, 2026).
Sources: PHC4, AHRQ HCUP Statistical Brief #281, Wei et al., Cardiovascular Business, MDedge, Abbott [1] [2] [3] [4], Cuánto Me Cuesta, Medical Tourism Association [1] [2], Bookimed, Noticias Caracol.
Surgery. Published bypass prices in Colombia run about $12K to $24K. In the US, Medicare paid Pennsylvania hospitals an average of $43,252 per bypass in 2023 to 2024, and the median listed self-pay price in a national price-transparency study was $75,047. Average billed charges were about $262,000.
Devices. For a pacemaker, the Colombian range overlaps what Medicare pays at home, likely because the imported device is a large, fixed share of the cost. ICDs show a wider gap. A trip that saves $2,000 is rarely worth it after flights and two weeks away, and we would rather tell you that now. Ask for a quote and we will run the math with you.
Scheduled cardiac care abroad is for stable patients with time to plan. If your situation is acute, the right hospital is the closest one.
Based on the UK Civil Aviation Authority's contraindications to commercial air travel and the British Cardiovascular Society's fitness-to-fly report. Read the full checklist.
Medellín sits lower than the cabin altitude of the plane you fly in on. Bogotá sits just above it, and above the line European cardiology guidance uses for high altitude. That does not rule Bogotá out; it means some patients should ask their cardiologist about it first.
Approximate elevations from Wikipedia. Medellín's airport (MDE) is in Rionegro, up on the plateau at about 2,142 m. Most patients land there and drive down into the valley.
Sources: Wikipedia [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8], UK Civil Aviation Authority, Parati et al..
Hospital stays and flight minimums come from published guidance. The green buffer is our own conservative planning advice, not a medical rule. Your cardiologist and your airline make the final call.
Sources: Smith et al., UK Civil Aviation Authority, CDC Yellow Book 2026, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, NHS [1] [2], Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic.
Flying after heart surgery and the altitude question, explained
Fewer than ten Colombian hospitals hold Joint Commission International accreditation. These six held it in the most recent hospital or press reports we found (2019 to 2025; Imbanaco's 2026 renewal is unconfirmed), and each runs documented cardiac programs. JCI's own directory is the final word.
Sources: Consultorsalud · Fundación Valle del Lili · El Tiempo · Newsweek World's Best Hospitals 2026 · International office
Sources: Joint Commission International · Newsweek World's Best Hospitals 2026
Sources: Hospital Pablo Tobón Uribe [1] [2] · Newsweek World's Best Hospitals 2026 · International office
Sources: LaCardio [1] [2] · Newsweek World's Best Hospitals 2026 · International office
Sources: Clínica Imbanaco · Redacción Médica · Newsweek World's Best Hospitals 2026
Sources: Mayo Clinic News Network · Consultorsalud [1] [2] · La República
Medellín also has Clínica Cardio VID, where Colombia's first heart transplant was performed in 1985 and which reports 677 heart transplants since, and Hospital San Vicente Fundación, which reported 46 TAVI procedures across its two campuses in 2025. Both have long cardiac track records, but we found no evidence that either holds JCI accreditation, so we list them separately and say so. Being listed here is not an endorsement or a partnership. Full hospital guide.
Specialists surveyed by the Fraser Institute in 2025 reported a median of 19.6 weeks from GP referral to elective cardiovascular surgery. The stretch from seeing the specialist to surgery alone was 10.8 weeks, against the 7.1 weeks they considered clinically reasonable. The spread between provinces is wide: 8.3 weeks in Saskatchewan, 38.1 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Waiting is not always the wrong choice; urgent cases move faster, and public coverage is worth a lot. But if you are stable, scheduled and facing months, it is worth knowing what the alternative costs. Check your provincial plan's out-of-country rules before you go.
In the US, the wait is usually earlier in the line: AMN's 2025 survey found an average of 32.7 days just to get a new-patient cardiology appointment.
For the stretch from seeing the specialist to surgery alone, the national median was 10.8 weeks, against the 7.1 weeks surveyed specialists considered clinically reasonable. Fraser's figures come from a physician survey, not administrative data; CIHI's official bypass benchmark is surgery within 2 to 26 weeks depending on urgency.
Sources: Fraser Institute, CIHI.
Your cardiologist's recommendation and recent records: echo, ECG, catheterization or CT report, medication list. WhatsApp or the form is fine.
From accredited Colombian cardiac centers that fit your procedure and your altitude constraints, in English, and ask for them itemized so you can see what is included.
Ask the treating cardiologist or surgeon your questions before you book a flight, by video where the hospital offers it.
Lodging near the hospital, a fly-home date that respects published guidance, and records in English for your cardiologist and cardiac rehab at home.
Long-form guides with the sources listed at the bottom of every page.
GuidesWhat scheduled heart surgery in Colombia really involves: published 2026 prices vs the US, the six JCI-accredited cardiac hospitals, altitude, fly-home timing and who should not go.
HospitalsColombia's six JCI-accredited hospitals with major cardiac programs, plus Medellín's best-known heart centers, with accreditation status, transplant volumes, elevation and how to verify each yourself.
Travel & safetyHow long to wait before flying after bypass, valve surgery, TAVR, stents, pacemakers and ablation, why open-heart patients wait longest, and what cardiology guidance says about altitude.
Generally, no. Medicare's own guidance says it usually doesn't cover health care outside the US, and its narrow exceptions (certain emergencies, cruise ships near a US port, a foreign hospital closer than the nearest US one) don't fit a scheduled procedure. Plan on paying privately, and ask any supplemental or employer plan in writing before you book.
Colombia keeps a public registry of licensed health professionals called ReTHUS. You can search it by full name or ID number, and it shows whether the person is authorized to practice and any disciplinary sanctions. The Sociedad Colombiana de Cardiología y Cirugía Cardiovascular also publishes a member directory. We send you both links with every quote.
It can be, depending on your condition. Bogotá sits at about 2,640 m, just above both the maximum cabin altitude of an airliner and the 2,500 m line that European cardiology guidance uses for "high altitude." Medellín (about 1,495 m) and Cali (about 1,018 m) sit well below both. If you have had a recent heart attack or stent, advanced heart failure, or pulmonary hypertension, raise altitude with your cardiologist before choosing a city.
Published minimums for uncomplicated bypass or surgical valve replacement run from 10 days (British Cardiovascular Society, CDC) to 10 to 14 days (UK Civil Aviation Authority, Aerospace Medical Association). Air left in the chest after open-heart surgery can expand at cabin altitude, which is why the wait exists. Our planning advice is three to four weeks in Colombia so there is room for a check-up before the flight.
Ask before you book. The AMA's ethics guidance on medical tourism encourages physicians to tell patients up front whether they are willing to provide follow-up care. Bring home a complete set of records in English: the operative or procedure report, discharge summary, imaging, and medication list. Cardiac rehab should be booked at home too; programs usually run 8 to 12 weeks, longer than any stay in Colombia.
Asking questions and requesting quotes costs nothing. If you later want help on the ground (airport pickup, an interpreter at appointments, lodging near the hospital), we quote that in writing before you commit, separately from anything you pay the hospital.
No. We are not doctors and this site does not diagnose or recommend treatment. We summarize published guidance and prices, cite every source, and help you get quotes. Your cardiologist decides whether a procedure is right for you and whether you are fit to travel.
We are in Medellín, on Colombian time (UTC-5), and we answer in English. Tell us what your cardiologist recommended and we will come back with options, or tell you plainly if travel does not make sense for you.