Coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) cost in the UK: what you pay privately (2026)

Private coronary artery bypass surgery grafts vessels around blocked heart arteries to restore blood flow, and is usually recommended for multi-vessel or left main disease, or when stenting is not appropriate.

No dependable public price list for coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) turned up when we checked, so no figure is given here rather than a guess. What is useful is knowing what builds the price and what to ask each provider.

Surgery usually involves opening the breastbone and taking a vessel from the leg, arm or chest to bypass the blockages, with the heart often stopped and supported by a heart-lung machine, though some operations are done on the beating heart.

After surgery you spend time in intensive care and then on a ward. Ask what the quote assumes for length of stay and how extra days, if needed, are charged.

Price differences for coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) usually come down to a handful of choices and circumstances, set out here.

• Number of grafts and technique: single or multiple grafts, on-pump or off-pump, and use of arterial grafts.

• Intensive care and ward stay: time in critical care is a major fee driver.

• Surgical and anaesthetic team fees.

• Pre-operative work-up: angiography, echo, bloods and consultations.

• Complications: a prolonged stay or re-operation changes the bill.

The same label can mean different things at different hospitals. Use this table as a checklist when you read an estimate.

Insurers normally cover bypass surgery with authorisation, and agree a fee schedule; check any limits on intensive care days.

Policies differ on outpatient and inpatient cover, so the same procedure can be fully, partly or not covered. If you pay yourself, ask what is guaranteed in the price and whether instalment plans carry interest.

NHS cardiac surgery is provided in specialist centres, urgent cases are prioritised, and waiting times vary by region.

The NHS pathway runs through your GP and a consultant-led service, with an 18-week referral-to-treatment standard for non-urgent care. If a wait looks likely to exceed that, you can ask your commissioner about alternatives.

Recovery takes weeks to months, with time off work depending on the job, and a cardiac rehabilitation programme is important.

Most people have an uneventful experience, but it helps to know how a problem would be handled financially.

• Major surgery carries risks including bleeding, infection, stroke and heart rhythm problems, and extended intensive care can substantially alter cost.

• Chest pain at rest, with sweating or breathlessness, needs 999 rather than waiting for planned care.

To compare like with like, request the same details from every provider. For this procedure the useful questions are below.

• How many grafts does the price assume?

• How many nights of intensive care and ward stay are included?

• What if I need to stay longer or return to theatre?

• Is rehabilitation included?

• Does the quote itemise the hospital, consultant and anaesthetic charges, and which of them could still change?