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[Taz76]

Hi i have just been diagnosed with heart failure so I'm relatively new to all this , I'm still having further scans so I am at the beginning of something new so to speak . I'm struggling to find any insurance for holidays apart from it being so expensive has anyone any recommendations?

[skid112 Heart Star]

Hello Taz, I'm sorry to hear your diagnosis. There are a number of companies out there who specialise in travel insurance but it will be expensive im afraid. Try staysure, there are a few others out there as well, I'm sure others will be along with their recommendations as well. The BHF have a page bhf.org.uk/heart-health/liv... as well.

[Taz76 in reply to skid112]

Hi

Thank you for replying , I'm still taking it all in and have tried a few companies but it is expensive I guess it's just going to be that way 😔

[skid112 Heart Star in reply to Taz76]

yes it is expensive, not too sure if the premiums reduce over time as my own event was less than a year ago

[Taz76 in reply to skid112]

Thanks you'd think for people with health problems they'd make it that bit cheaper the prices are ridiculous

[Hidden]

Hi Taz - I'm really sorry about your heart failure diagnosis. If you'd like to read a little more about it, our web page might help you: bhf.org.uk/heart-health/con... there's also copies of our booklets you can download or order for free too. I hope you find some reasonably priced insurance too! Always worth ringing around the list that skid112 has linked you to and seeing what the best quote it.

Take care,

Chris

[Taz76 in reply to Hidden]

Hi chris

Thanks for replying , it's def a shock they don't really know how I've got it , they don't think it's been a heart attack but quite possible an underlying disorder as I have peripheral neuropathy as well so waiting on my cardiac MRI , I see the heart failure nurses at belfast city every two weeks and they are lovely , they also can't understand why it's all of my heart that's damaged and not just a part , it has been hard to deal with but I'm getting there 😊

[Hidden in reply to Taz76]

I'm so glad you're being supported by your nurses - look after yourself and feel free to post here any time to chat, or if you'd like to speak to a nurse on our helpline just drop us a line on 0300 330 3311

[Truesta123 in reply to Taz76]

It hard deal with shock of hveng heart problems. I had triple bypass last march .still worry constantly . Feel for everyone with heart problems I bought a watch type wrist strap tht tells me bp and h rate . It seems fine but still worry hope we can all find way dealing with ourselves .without worry

[Hidden]

Hi I have heart failure and I got travel insurance with a company called insure with, they are a specialist company for people with heart disease, and quite reasonable compared to some I tried, take care I hope all goes well for you, x

[Taz76 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you very much I'll try them x

[Hidden]

I was £112 for an annual policy, with no excess, there were cheaper options, and I found it quite easy to apply for compared to some companies, have a lovely holiday x

[Prada47]

We have (Free ) Insurance with our Bank Account. I informed them of my By Pass and subsequent Heart Failure Diagnosis, and was informed that I was still covered for everything else, with the exception of anything to do with my heart.

So Hey Ho lets go. I believe the by pass fixed any narrowing problems and my Heart Failure is under control with medication, at present, so I feel that I am almost as health as the next person in the Airline Queue. I understand that this is a solution that not everyone would be comfortable with but it suits me.

Regards

[Taz76 in reply to Prada47]

Must check with my bank thanks

[Butcharts]

Insurance requirements depend on where you are going, and for the future after Brexit, whether we still have reciprocal arrangements for health treatment. I had a quadruple CABG in August 2015. All went well, and having been keen skiers most of our life, my wife and I decided as part of my "recuperation" to spend all of the following winter in Austria.

As this was an extended period and with CABG history, travel insurance was extortionate. So decided to rely on European Health Insurance Card, and a separate policy for mountain rescue only.

By the end of march, I was starting to become breathless with exertion like climbing stairs. On advice from GP at home, I consulted a local Austrian GP. He dispatched me to the local hospital who performed an angiogram within a couple of hours and this indicated that three of my grafts had failed and closed up.

Over the next couple of days they inserted 7 stents in my original arteries. I spent the next 8 days in a superb modern facility and almost all costs were covered by EHIC. All I had to pay was a contribution for my food....9€ a day. Everyone spoke perfect English as most of Europe does, and all of the doctors and nurses had time to care and reassure the patients

We tend to believe that the NHS has some of the best treatment in the world. My experience has been that the Austrian system is head and shoulders above ours.

I would imagine that in health care, most major European countries have moved forwards at a faster pace that the UK. Make use of the EHIC in case it disappears with Brexit!

[Taz76 in reply to Butcharts]

Hi and thanks for your reply , it's Australia I'm heading to for 3 months to visit my brother so it's very expensive

[laura_dropstitch Heart Star]

Hi Taz. No advice on travel insurance, but just wanted to say hi and wish you well. I was diagnosed with heart failure just over 5 years ago. My medical professionals have no idea what caused mine either, but that hasn't posed any problems for treatment, just a rather annoying mystery! I remember the horrible shock of diagnosis (I don't think I even knew what heart failure was at the time) and how scared, confused, overwhelmed and sad I felt, and for such a long time. I was always frustrated by people telling me how lucky I was that I had this diagnosis so that my heart could be monitored and treated (I didn't feel lucky about anything at all) but they were so right. If my experience is anything to go by, you will have amazing people taking very good care of you from now on. Hopefully you'll start feeling more certain and confident, as well as feeling better physically, once you've had more tests and got your treatment plan sorted out.

Good luck with everything, feel better soon and have a great time in Australia

[Taz76 in reply to laura_dropstitch]

Hi laura

Thank you and that is exactly how I'm feeling , up / down , round and round and very frustrated! I'm quite hard on myself as well if I'm having a bad day and can't do much I always end up doing too much and exhausting myself which I know isn't good but I don't like to give in so I guess I haven't fully accepted that it's a serious condition and I need to listen to my body , Australia isn't for a while yet I'm just getting prices for insurance and by the looks of it I'll have to save my ass off 😊

[laura_dropstitch Heart Star in reply to Taz76]

Rest is definitely important but hopefully you will start to feel better in the not too distant future and be able to do the things you want to. I feel much better now than I did a few years back and am able to do a lot more. I think it takes a bit of experimenting to see what balance of treatments works best for each individual. Research is going on all the time and it seems consultants are keen to act on any new discovery, so I feel like things will improve for heart failure patients as time goes by. My treatment is constantly being reassessed and adjusted according to new findings. I love that they don't settle for patients feeling just OK, but keep trying to make us well. Hard to be patient when you're feeling crap, but things will get better, I'm sure x