Protect your heart the right way

No matter who you are, you are loved by somebody and your life matters to them. And when you love your family, you strive to protect them as best you can. But can you do it all alone? Not really. Even though you might call it a cliché, it's true: You should always expect the unexpected in life. While it may not be pleasant, the reality is that you will encounter a number of unforeseen events during your life that might threaten the happiness and security of you and your loved ones.

The good news is that insurance can financially shield you and your family against most uncertainties. For example, your suffering from a serious illness can become more stressful if you're struggling to meet your financial commitments. This is where health insurance payouts can ease the pressure and help you focus on your physical and emotional recovery.

If you are healthy and rarely see a doctor, you might think it a good idea to not opt for health insurance. But you must take into account that the incidence of cardiac diseases is on the rise. A Global Burden of Disease Report released in September 2017 says that heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the country, with an estimated 17 lakh Indians dying yearly*. Even younger people are falling prey to it-in fact, research by the Indian Heart Association shows that 25% of cardiovascular disease mortality occurred in Indians aged less than 40 years^.

Over the years, more and more Indians have been exposed to threats to their heart owing to a sedentary lifestyle, stress, junk food consumption and smoking. In fact, a sedentary way of living makes people susceptible to hypertension, obesity, diabetes and coronary artery disease, all of which stand their own ground as triggers for heart attack, cardiac arrest and heart failure.

So even if you look and feel young, you can never be sure that your heart won't let you down in the future. And while the advancement of medicine may have made it easy to fight ailments of the heart, the impact that this battle will have on your finances can be intimidating.

If you get afflicted by a heart ailment without insurance, you and your loved ones may end up with a staggering amount of medical debt, and seemingly no easy way out of the mess. Cardiac intensive care can cost lakhs of rupees in medical expenses, and it can rapidly climb higher if you require life-saving surgery or time in rehabilitation. Since this is probably a time when you will not be employed, it will mean that you will lose out on potential income too. Having sufficient funds during such times can not only help you stay in control, but also give you the freedom to choose heart treatment options.

Cardiac care health insurance can counter the ever-increasing cost of medical treatments for heart diseases by ensuring your family has the financial resources it needs for paying the bills. Simply put, just as seatbelts protect you and your loved ones in a moving vehicle in case of a collision or sudden halt, such insurance plans offer protection against the medical costs of leading heart ailments.

HDFC Life Cardiac Care is a health insurance plan that offers you, as a policyholder, a lump sum payout on the detection of a heart disease in the most hassle-free manner. The money will make sure that your medical bills of cardiac procedures such as bypass surgery and angioplasty are covered.

If you are the heart of your family, it is important that you secure your physical well-being with cardiac care insurance not just for your sake but for theirs too. This way, you will always be there to help your loved ones protect themselves from life's uncertainties.

Plan now with HDFC Life Cardiac Care, karo #DilKaInsurance.

*http://www.indiaspend.com/indias-great-challenge-health-sanitation/heart-disease-kills-1-7-million-indians-continues-to-be-top-killer-in-2016

^http://indianheartassociation.org/why-indians-why-south-asians/overview/