Bradford heart patients can now receive life-saving treatment in the city without having to travel to Leeds.

Until now patients requiring an angioplasty, which stretches narrowings in coronary arteries, have had to make a 20 mile round trip to the Yorkshire Heart Centre at Leeds General Infirmary after having an angiogram in Bradford.

But technological advances and the increasing safety of angioplasty mean consultant cardiologists Dr Steven Lindsay and Dr John Kurian, who

work for Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, can now perform the procedures for patients admitted to Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Dr Kurian said: "From the patients' perspective, it's much better to have the angiogram and angioplasty happening at the same time and being able to do so locally eliminates the need for transfer between hospitals."

About 200 angioplasty procedures are expected to be performed at BRI each year.

Dr Lindsay said: "It's a lot more convenient for patients but perhaps the key thing is that it's half the hospital visits and half the anxiety. This is an important development which will make a real impact on heart patients in the Bradford area. Demand for angioplasty is rising so this is the perfect time for Bradford to begin delivering the service."

Linda Johnson, of Shipley, was one of the first two people to have an angioplasty at Bradford Royal Infirmary earlier this month.

The 49-year-old mum of three, who needed the procedure after a heart attack, said: "They were wonderful to me at BRI and I can't thank them enough. It made a big difference being able to have it done locally."

An angioplasty is normally performed on patients with angina or who have had a heart attack, where an angiogram has shown they have narrow coronary arteries.

A special tube is inserted into the patient's leg or arm and carefully manoeuvred to the artery needing attention.

Wires are passed through the narrowing and it is then stretched with a balloon before a metal stent (tiny tube) is inserted which acts as a scaffold to keep the area open while it heals.

An angiogram is a similar procedure but only pictures of the coronary arteries are obtained.

Health bosses hope the extra facility will help to drive down waiting lists.

Dr Lindsay and Dr Kurian thanked the Heartbeat Appeal which donated more than £30,000 for an intra aortic balloon pump, a vital piece of equipment.