Dispur is contemplating initiating a study to ascertain whether there was any co-relation between conflict and heart ailments in children after it was found that most of the 130 children selected for free treatment at a Bangalore-based hospital were from violence-prone areas of the state.

Dispur will send the first batch of children with holes in their hearts for surgery to the Bangalore-based Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals, one of the world's largest paediatric heart hospitals, on July 10. The hospital has performed nearly 15,000 surgeries on patients from 25 foreign countries since it was established in 2001.

The entire cost of treatment will be borne by the Assam government.

Assam health and family welfare minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters that the hospital in Bangalore also receives a lot of children from conflict zones like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan with heart ailments.

"Under such circumstances there is an urgent need for a comprehensive study and research on the co-relation between conflict and heart ailments in children. My department will try to conduct a study on the issue for effective prevention and treatment of the disease," he said.

Sarma said various categories of cardiac cases, including those with very highly complex, genetic anomalies, cases where surgical intervention was not required and some which were not congenital, were detected during a screening camp at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital from July 1 to 3.

"I have come to know that many children found with cardiac problems during the screening camp were from districts in Assam where conflict and violence are more severe. So there are reasons to believe that mothers living in conflict zones give birth to children with cardiac problems. But I am not a medical expert and thus favour a scientific study," the minister said.

Sarma said he would disclose the number of children with heart disease and names of the violence affected districts on July 10. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi will formally flag off the scheme the same day.

Benedict Raj R, consultant paediatric cardiac surgeon of Narayana Hrudayalaya, said Sarma has given the medical fraternity food for thought to discover any such co-relation. He said an advanced and comprehensive scientific study was necessary to arrive at a conclusion.

A cardiologist at GMCH, requesting anonymity, said the minister's observation did not have any direct scientific bearing. "But women living in conflict zones might be slightly more stressed and tense during pregnancy. Under such circumstances, pregnant women may take an overdose of drugs to reduce stress and for a good night's sleep which might affect the heart of the baby," he said.