Can I get life insurance if I’ve had a heart attack?

Will a Life Insurance Company Cover Me if I Have Had a Heart Attack?

It is more probably than most people think that they can get life insurance coverage if they have some manner of heart attack, by-pass surgery, or stents placed in their arteries surgically.

Insurance company underwriters no have access to much more up-to-date information that allows them to have more detail regarding what has been done surgically, and what is taking place in the realm of follow-up care and maintenance.

For example, it is possible to for many patients who have had bypass surgery to get a moderately rated life insurance policy as soon as six months after surgery.

A good example of how modern technology contributes to the “detective work” in the determination of heart health is the procedure of the Ultra-Fast CT scan.

Also known as a “Cat Scan” the procedure can use electron beams to literally “take a picture” of any organ in the body in its present form.

In this way, the actual condition of the organ can be viewed and medical decisions made as though the physician could “see” the organ through the body.

The major factors in the determination of such favorable underwriting have a lot to do with the patient following doctor’s orders, taking on a good, prescribed exercise and rehabilitation program, following a well-regimented diet, and staying away from tobacco and alcohol.

Regular checkups by the patient’s doctor keep a documented record of the overall condition and progress of the after-surgery healing, and in today’s digital world, everything in the way of pertinent data is easily shared.

Learn more about life insurance after a heart attack and make sure to use our free comparison tool above!

Adequate Health Insurance Coverage is Vital for Heart Patients

The maintenance of heart treatment is very expensive, although the ethics in the United States is to treat anyone who has a need.

It doesn’t always work for poorer patients, however, because medical facilities and professionals tend to go where they are going to be paid.

The best place for anyone to receive their health insurance coverage is through a workplace plan of coverage. With the transition of Obamacare into a more inclusive coverage, it is likely that coverage will be available to more people.

It is important if you suffer or have had surgery from any manner of a heart issue, to be sure and seek expert help in caring for your condition.

If you can not afford the treatment, there is usually help from somewhere that can be of financial assistance.

How is heart disease affecting our society and what does it mean for life insurance?

We are seeing more and more incidents of heart disease at younger ages in our society, and there is a need for more emphasis on preventive care in the areas of diet, exercise, care, reductions in smoking and alcohol usage and more emphasis on doctor checkups.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of South Africa estimates that up to 80 percent of heart disease can be prevented by sound prevention strategies in the areas of healthy lifestyle choices when people are younger and in middle age.

The same statistics are prevalent around the world as people seem to have drifted off into their own worlds of eating all of the wrong things and spending less time exercising.

–What is Congestive Heart Failure?

Congenital heart disease is the result of a gradual weakening and structural decrease in the heart’s overall ability to function. This condition occurs more often in older people as the heart muscle gradually begins to wear down.

Congestive heart failure can occur from a heart attack, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and other conditions that put more stress on the heart muscle.

The longer a person suffers from CHF and the older they are, the more they are at risk. If the CHF is just beginning to manifest, it still might be possible to apply for and be covered by life insurance at moderate to high ratings.

Most chronic heart conditions will eventually wind up cause some degree of congestive heart failure because they all overwork the heart.

That is why people who are overweight, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and any other heart problems will tend to eventually have congestive heart failure.

–Guaranteed Death Benefit and Graded Death Benefit Policies

If the CHF condition is too far advanced, the result will be a decline for life insurance that has to go through any type of underwriting process.

The only avenue left open to a person will be a guaranteed life insurance type of life insurance coverage.

Guaranteed life insurance, or graded benefit life insurance provides no death benefit for the first two years of the policy or graduated “grades” of coverage.

However, if death occurs during that first several years, the premiums paid into the policy are refunded to the named beneficiary along with an extra ten to twenty percent of the total premiums.

The details of these plans vary from company to company, but that is the general summation of how a guaranteed death benefit policy works. In graded policies, the death benefit can be graduated from year to year.

More People Are Getting Impaired Risk Life Insurance Policies Than Ever Before

The incidence of other than standard life insurance policies that are being issued is up about 20 percent since 2009, according to LIMRA, a statistical and industry compiler of life insurance facts.

This is probably due to a couple of reasons. There are more people today who have medical conditions that are ratable, due to poor dietary habits, lack of exercise, and lack of regular doctor checkups.

A second reason is that there is more access to medical records due to a more robust digital system of medical record keeping.

With an increasing accurate array of information that can be obtained more accurately and more quickly, life insurance underwriters are able make decisions more accurately and more quickly.

More advanced and predictable medical techniques have certainly added to the efficiency of the process.

A good example is the statistic of many heart patients who can get fairly decent ratings on policies after heart surgery, mild heart complications and those who are under strict doctor vigilance.

In Conclusion

It is possible for a heart patient to apply for, and be approved for life insurance. Ultimate success depends on the condition of the overall health as well as the heart history and current heart condition.

There are many levels of heart health as well as different levels of life insurance acceptability. However, through careful research and application of medical information, many people can qualify.

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