Kazakhstan has entered the world’s top 30 countries for cardiac surgery, according to the Ministry of Health, citing the country’s growing use of advanced cardiovascular procedures, including heart transplantation and other high-tech surgical interventions.
In 2025, Kazakhstan performed 13,106 open-heart surgeries, a 7.2% increase from the previous year. Coronary artery bypass grafting accounted for the largest share of procedures, at 46.1%. It is the standard surgical treatment for severe coronary artery disease and restores blood flow to the heart by bypassing blocked or narrowed arteries.
Operations for acquired and congenital heart defects together accounted for 35.8% of all open-heart procedures.
“Kazakhstan continues to expand high-tech cardiology and cardiac surgery services, allowing the country to join the world’s 30 leading nations in this field,” the Ministry of Health said.
In addition to conventional cardiac surgery, hospitals in Kazakhstan increasingly perform endovascular procedures. These minimally invasive interventions are carried out through small vascular punctures using catheters and other specialized instruments guided by X-ray or ultrasound imaging. According to the ministry, the country’s cardiology centers now provide more than 80 types of high-tech cardiovascular procedures.
One of the country’s most notable achievements came in 2025, when surgeons completed Kazakhstan’s 100th heart transplant, highlighting the growing capabilities of the national transplant program and the increasing expertise of domestic specialists.
The ministry also reported steady improvements in cardiovascular health indicators. Over the past five years, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases has declined by 15%, while mortality from circulatory system diseases has fallen by 35.1%.
The positive trend continued during the first five months of 2026. Cases of circulatory system diseases declined by 6.6%, arterial hypertension by 9.7%, and coronary heart disease by 10.1%.
The number of acute myocardial infarctions decreased by 5.7%, while strokes fell by 6.1%.
According to the Ministry of Health, these improvements have been driven by the expansion of specialized stroke and cardiac centers, wider availability of high-tech medical care, implementation of modern clinical protocols, improvements in emergency medical services, broader preventive screening programs, and increased access to medicines for patients with cardiovascular diseases.
As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakhstan has become an increasingly attractive destination for medical tourism, driven by the competitive cost and quality of its healthcare services. In 2025, the country treated approximately 80,000 foreign patients, 4.5 times the 2021 figure. Earlier this year, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev also argued that Kazakhstan has developed several healthcare advantages that compare favorably with those available in some advanced Western countries.
