Is it time to put heart cover on your hospital policy?

According to the National Heart Foundation, around 54,000 Australians suffer a heart attack each year. This equates to one heart attack every 10 minutes.

Heart attacks are a leading cause of death in Australia, deaths that can largely be preventable. So why aren’t we more educated on how to make sure we have the correct hospital cover in case it happens? Let us break it down for you.

What types of heart diseases are there?

• Heart attack: also known as acute myocardial infraction
• Angioplasty: this is when an artery may be blocked and require minor surgery

Risk factors for heart disease:

9 out of 10 Aussies have at least one risk factor for heart disease, with 25% of these having three or more risk factors.

There is not one single thing that causes heart disease but there are several risk factors that contribute to it, including:

1. Have you got high blood pressure?
2. Do you have high cholesterol?
3. Are you overweight or obese?
4. Is your physical inactivity high?
5. Do you have a low fruit and veggie intake?
6. Do you drink alcohol?
7. Do you smoke?
8. Is there family history of heart related issues?

When it comes time each year to review your health insurance, it is good to reassess your risk factors and take them into consideration when choosing the right level of health cover for you. If you have any of the risk factors above, regardless of your age, it’s a good idea to make sure your hospital health insurance policy includes heart cover.

You’re never too young (or old!) for heart cover

Don’t assume you are not at risk because of your age as many different factors that can come into place. These can differ from behavioural risk factors like your diet and lifestyle to medical risk factors like your cholesterol and blood pressure.

Cardiac problems and heart disease can happen to people of any age, therefore it’s important to make sure you’re hospital policy includes heart cover for some greater peace of mind that you will be covered if anything was to happen.

Does health insurance cover heart disease?

This all depends on what type of private health insurance policy you have, give iSelect a call on 13 19 20 and we can find out if you are covered. If you are not currently covered, we can help make sure you are and find the best possible deal for you.

Alternatively, if you already know that you have heart cover on your policy, it’s still worth giving us a call (it’s 100% free) to see if we can save you some money and get you a better deal on your health insurance.

Need help choosing the right health insurance for you?

If you need help with understanding your hospital policy you can give iSelect a call on 13 19 20.

iSelect does not compare all products in the market. Not all products are available at all times. Any advice provided in this content is of a general nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You need to consider the appropriateness of any information or general advice we give you, having regard to your personal situation, before acting on our advice or purchasing any product.

Source: https://www.heartfoundation.org.au/about-us/what-we-do/heart-disease-in-australia