A WORCESTER hospital is now offering heart treatment which could save the lives of hundreds of people every year.

The technique, called angioplasty, works by inflating a balloon in the blocked coronary artery before a stent is fitted to keep it open.

It will save money and reduce the time patients spend in hospital according to a recent Government report.

The report also suggests the treatment could save 250 lives nationwide each year once it is used on heart attack patients.

At the moment heart attack patients are treated using thrombolysis - injections of clot-busing drugs.

The first angioplasty procedure was carried out on Thursday, September 25 at Worcestershire Royal Hospital on angina patients as reported on the Worcester News health feature page.

Consultant cardiologist Dr Jasper Trevelyan said at the moment the procedure was only being carried out on angina patients but would soon be used on patients who had suffered heart attacks.

Before the introduction of the treatment, patients had to travel to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham to have the treatment.

Experts at the Royal expect 200 people to be treated in the first year, rising to 400 by the third year.