Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced “cabbage”) is one of the most frequent openheart surgeries in the United States. The medical costs, however, are not for the faint of heart. That may be a poor joke, but the reality is that people without adequate health insurance can face a tough choice: continue to suffer and risk a heart attack, or lose your savings and perhaps your home. At this time, it costs about $800 for a comprehensive physical examination that includes bloodwork and an exercise treadmill test. Everyone middleaged or older should have one, especially those planning a fitness program. This sort of physical examination can be accomplished for as little as $50 overseas, although more typically about $150. And if the results show that you are a candidate for coronary artery bypass, meaning your heart arteries are partially blocked, well, that is where the real opportunity for saving appears. A CABG in the United States runs about $30,000 or more, and additional costs can push the total into six figures. At worldclass facilities overseas, for example at Max Devi (see India, page 201), it can be done for as little as a 10th of that cost.