Speak with an experienced advisor! Are you having trouble finding affordable life insurance because you had coronary anglioplasty?
If you have had heart related problems and have undergone coronary anglioplasty, obtaining affordable life insurance is not out of reach. Depending on the severity of your condition, most life insurance companies will offer coverage but many will charge a significantly higher rate. Identifying the insurance company that will treat you most favorably is paramount to getting the best possible rate. The information below will provide you with an overview of anglioplasty, its impact on life insurance rates and some helpful tips on getting the best possible rate.
Coronary Anglioplasty Defined
According to the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, coronary anglioplasty is a medical procedure used to restore blood flow through a narrowed or blocked artery in the heart. The arteries of the heart (the coronary arteries) can become narrowed and blocked due to buildup of a material called plaque on their inner walls. This narrowing reduces the flow of blood through the artery and can lead, over time, to coronary artery disease and heart attack. In anglioplasty, a thin tube with a balloon or other device on the end is first threaded through a blood vessel in the arm or groin up to the site of a narrowing or blockage in a coronary artery. Once in place, the balloon is then inflated to push the plaque outward against the wall of the artery, widening the artery and restoring the flow of blood through it.
Anglioplasty is used to:
- Relieve angina/chest pains caused by reduced blood flow to the heart.
- Minimize damage to the heart muscle during a heart attack. This damage occurs when blood flow is totally cut off to an area of the heart.
As part of the anglioplasty procedure, you may have a stent placed in an artery. Stents are usually made of metal mesh, but sometimes they’re made of fabric. Fabric stents, also called stent grafts, are used in larger arteries. Stents help prevent arteries from becoming narrowed or blocked again in the months or years after treatment with anglioplasty. You may also have a stent placed in a weakened artery to improve blood flow and to help prevent the artery from bursting.
Anglioplasty Statistics
According to the American Heart Association’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 1,285,000 angioplasties were done in the United States in 2004. Of these, 853,000 men and 432,000 women had angioplasties.
About 70 to 90 percent of all anglioplasty patients receive a stent, which is inserted permanently at the site of the blockage.
In approximately one-third of all cases, the blockages return and the artery becomes narrow again.
Advancements in treatment have resulted in anglioplasty success rates of 96 to 99 percent.
Coronary anglioplasty is Avoidable
The need for coronary anglioplasty results from lifestyle factors that are in most cases controllable. Life insurance companies are especially interested in these factors and how they impact each individual case. The following factors are most important in evaluating an individual’s coronary heart disease:
- Smoking or tobacco use history,
- Elevated Cholesterol levels,
- Obesity or Excessively Overweight. Body Mass Index (BMI) in excess of 25,
- Lack of exercise,
- Hypertension or High Blood Pressure,
- Diabetes,
- High Fat Diet or Poor Diet,
- Stress,
- Family history of CHD.
The Impact of anglioplasty on Life Insurance Rates
If you have had the procedure known as coronary anglioplasty your rates will be affected but the likelihood of securing a competitive policy is good. Your specific underwriting health class will be determined by the severity of your condition as noted in your medical records. A stress test or thallium stress test is a definitive test used by cardiologists to determine the presence coronary heart disease and a cardiac catherization is the procedure that pinpoints blockages and corrects them via anglioplasty. A careful review of the results of these tests allows the insurance company to accurately evaluate your level of risk. Therefore, consistent follow-up treatment with your cardiologist is critical to providing the insurance company with the information needed to make you the best offer for life insurance. Lack of pertinent follow-up leaves a “gray area” for insurance companies and in those cases they never give you the benefit of the doubt.
With anglioplasty, other factors that affect life insurance rates include:
- Current age.
- Your age at the time the procedure was completed.
- The presence of any heart attacks prior to the anglioplasty
- How many vessels were corrected?
- The results of follow-up stress tests or other cardiac test results.
- Any symptoms occurring since the procedure such as angina?
- Current medications prescribed and their effectiveness.
- The additional presence of any of the risk factors above.
The best case scenario for rates for those who have had anglioplasty is a standard health class and is only available with very select companies and with very minimal coronary artery disease (CAD). The majority of insurance companies will offer a policy with a table rating or increased rate based on the diagnosis of CAD alone. The level of the table rating will be contingent upon the severity of the condition along with the factors listed above. For example, an individual with a prior heart attack or multiple vessel blockages with ongoing angina will be significantly rated. Additionally, the inability to adjust your lifestyle to offset the risk factors above will result in higher life insurance costs and may even result in coverage being declined.
For more information on obtaining affordable life insurance with angina see, getting a low life insurance rate with a history of anglioplasty.
How Can MEG Financial Help?
Our agents at MEG Financial have worked with and helped many individuals who have had coronary artery disease that is successfully treated with anglioplasty. Prior to using our services, many of these customers had attempted to secure life insurance elsewhere and were charged inflated rates. Our experience in helping others with heart conditions will prove valuable in helping you get the best priced policy.
For additional information or to obtain a custom quote, call MEG Financial today at (877) 583-3955. You may also submit this short form and an independent insurance agent will personally contact you to review questions discuss options.
