September is Heart Awareness Month with a dedicated focus on raising awareness about cardiovascular disease and the importance of living a healthy lifestyle to prevent disease onset.
According to research from the World Health Organization, Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number 1 cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. CVDs are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels and include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, rheumatic heart disease and other conditions.
Cardiac or heart failure is a serious condition that affects the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body. If not managed properly, it can lead to premature death. Those at risk may demonstrate raised blood pressure, raised glucose levels, high cholesterol levels, or be overweight.
Lifestyle behaviours that put people at higher risk of heart disease include smoking, minimum physical activity, an unhealthy diet and increased alcohol use. Because prevention is better than cure, many medical aid schemes provide rewards programmes to promote healthy lifestyle habits. Your plan may offer discounted rates for joining a gym and savings when shopping for healthy food items.
Once diagnosed with cardiac-related medical conditions, it is crucial to have access to the appropriate treatment. Should heart related complications not be managed correctly, one could be met with premature and sudden death.
There are medical aids that offer cardio care programmes that members can register with once diagnosed. All medical schemes differ, although medical aid schemes must cover costs of over 270 items on the Prescribed Minimum Benefits list, emergencies, and over 25 chronic conditions on the Chronic Disease list, many of them will apply terms and conditions. These conditions could range from using designated or registered networked service providers or medicine from medication lists that they have approved.
The sooner you learn about your risk for heart disease and the steps you need to take to manage your heart health, the better. Contact a Glopin Healthcare Consultant to query your preventative and emergency care benefits to maintain your heart health.
