The heart can cause multiple health issues, all of which are serious. Heart problems generally require complicated and expensive treatments, as well as hospitalization and long recovery periods. A good way to ensure that you are protected in the event that you suffer from heart problems is to purchase a supplemental insurance plan to help you overcome them.
Supplemental insurance plans can help you to cover medical treatment and procedures resulting from a heart attack or stroke. Insurance companies offer policy-holders a certain amount of money that can be used to pay for the costs of an illness of this type. 
Here we explain heart attack and stroke supplemental health insurance plans and how they work. Read below to find out the best ways to protect your heart.
Heart problems and supplemental insurance: Article Contents
The Heart: A Fragile Machine
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, heart conditions take the lives of around 610,000 people in the United States each year. This means that 25% of deaths in the US are caused by heart-related problems. Statistics show that of the more than 735,000 heart attacks that happen each year, 210,000 happen to people who have already had a heart attack.
These numbers reflect the health crisis affecting our country, one of the main causes of death. It also represents serious problems for those who suffer from heart conditions, as treatments are generally very difficult, and many times require high-risk surgeries, long recoveries, and expensive medication. Dealing with a heart problem can be very expensive, making it a good idea to have a supplemental insurance plan to protect you from heart attacks or stroke.
Heart problems can make your life difficult in many ways. The most common illnesses or diseases affecting the heart include:
Heart attack. A heart attack is a sudden stop in heart activity. In general, people pass out and stop breathing.
Stroke. This happens when a blood clot blocks a coronary artery, stopping the correct flow of blood into the heart. It can happen over several hours, and one of the symptoms is severe pain. In general, people do not pass out during a stroke.
Coronary heart disease. This disease, known as CAD, is the most common cardiovascular condition in the United States. It occurs when plaque, such as cholesterol and other substances, accumulates in the walls of the arteries that pump blood to the heart. When the arteries become blocked, this restricts blood flow to the heart and can cause pain. A common symptom is known as angina.
Chest angina. This symptom is severe and is the most well-known type of CAD. It is caused by the accumulation of cholesterol and other fatty deposits accumulating in the arteries. This causes partial blockage of the blood flow to the heart and results in severe pain. In general, the damage caused by this not permanent.
Aneurysm. An aneurysm is the excessive enlargement of of an artery, in this case the thoracic artery. It causes sharp pain, cough, and tenderness in the chest. It can cause serious damage without any apparent cause.
Arrhythmia. Arrhythmia refers to variations in the heartbeat that happen when there are problems with the electric signals that control the rhythm of the heart. Although many times they are not serious, in some cases they can be fatal.
Cardiomyopathy. This diseases causes the heart muscle tone to deteriorate, making it become weaker and less efficient at pumping blood.
Congenital heart defects. Many people are born with heart defects, including abnormally-sized hearts, or issues with heart walls or valves, among others.
As you can see, there are many heart-related problems. Some occur unexpectedly and can affect anyone, but others are caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. A diet that is high in animal fats, tobacco use, a sedentary lifestyle, and other bad habits can be factors that contribute to some of these health problems. Stress is also another common cause of heart attack and stroke.
In addition, there are also diseases that make some people more predisposed to these conditions due to genetics. It’s important to be aware of your family’s history of heart conditions because it could mean that you are genetically predisposed to these types of issues.
Supplemental Insurance for Heart Problems
Of course, your health insurance will cover the most urgent services if you happen to suffer from one of these diseases. But will it cover everything? Most insurance doesn’t cover long hospital stays, high-cost treatments, or expensive surgeries. This is why you need to ensure you are protected by purchasing a supplemental insurance plan that covers critical illnesses, specifically for heart problems in this case.
If you think that you might be at risk of suffering from heart disease, you should take precautions, and it’s a good idea to have supplemental insurance plan to help pay for expenses.
Heart attack and stroke insurance is a policy that provides you with a cash benefit if you experience heart problems, in exchange for a monthly premium. In general, the benefit is a specific amount of money that you receive in cash to use for medical services including hospitalization, rehabilitation, or medications. You can also use it to cover transportation costs for yourself or your family, copays and deductible expenses from your health insurance, experimental treatments, or just to maintain your family’s lifestyle while you are recovering and unable to work.
This benefit will ensure that you don’t have to use your savings or take out a loan in order to cover extra charges when you suffer a heart attack or similar problem. Remember that, under these circumstances, the last thing you will want to do is worry about money and how you’ll pay for your recovery.
These policies usually provide coverage against heart attacks and stroke, but there are also policies that cover transplants, angioplasty, bypasses, and other very expensive treatments. In addition, you can also add clauses that include coverage for diagnoses.
Find out if a supplemental insurance plan is right for you: take our test
What are the Advantages of Having Supplemental Insurance?
Supplemental health insurance is a good option to strengthen your family’s protection. Together with life insurance, these plans will protect your family’s income in the event that the breadwinner's health is compromised.
These plans are a good idea for many reasons. The main ones are:
Cash value. In contrast to other insurance plans that cover payments but don’t offer a cash benefit, supplemental insurance provides you with a cash payment that you can use as you see fit.
To cover your retirement. These types of policies are especially useful when you are retired, as health insurance plans can fall short in guaranteeing that you can access all the medical attention you need during this stage of your life.
To complement employer’s insurance. At times, health insurance offered by your company isn’t broad enough, has copays and deductibles, or requires you to cover a lot of out-of-pocket expenses. A supplemental insurance plan will allow you to avoid these problems.
Affordability. These types of plans are usually fairly affordable and have accessible premiums.
Variable and stackable. There are many types of supplemental insurance plans out there, including dental, critical illness, vision, hospital indemnity, travel, and final expense. You can purchase several plans, or combine different ones together.
As you can see, there are many options out there to improve your medical coverage through supplemental insurance plans. If you have a heart condition or think you could experience heart problemsin the future, don’t hesitate to look into purchasing one of these plans. Your heart is worth it!
