A “Simple” Heart Attack (Mike Alford, Alford & Associates)

A “Simple” Heart Attack

It all seems to be a normal Date Night Friday, the kids are having a sleep over with their grandparents, the dinner and movie venue are selected. All that needs to be done are some housekeeping items at the office. That’s when the call is received… “Your father has had a heart attack!”

Shock, denial, panic, silence… You are making decisions quickly but the easiest one is to grab some overnight clothes and jump in the car and hit the highway. The fear of not knowing fully what’s going on shoots through your body every minute. An inadvertent call to his cell phone ends in relief as a nurse picks up and confirms the heart attack and that he’s going through surgery to remove the blockage. Relief that he’s in the best hands possible slows the car down to normal highway speeds and 3 hours later you arrive at the hospital. You don’t care about the parking rate or even where you will eat or sleep the night. Your main focus is making sure your father is going to be ok.

It’s a rather emotional thing seeing your hero lying on a hospital bed with enough wires and tubes hanging out of him to power a city block. Even though the surgery was a success, the blockage was removed, the long recovery process begins.

I call it a “Simple” Heart Attack because for all intents and purposes, the survival rate for heart attack victims is in the 90% range if the problem is caught early enough. You’re through surgery in less than 2 hours and in many cases are sent home next day. This isn’t so if you’re out of town and need to be kept for observation and cleared before travelling.

You start adding up the cost of the weekend; Hotel room for 3 nights, 3 days worth of parking and 3 days of dining. The tally just for the weekend is around $2,000.

What about the recovery period and the cost of the medications and treatments not covered by OHIP? How about the month of recommended time off work? Where does this money come from? Savings? Credit? These expenses can escalate very quickly into the tens of thousands of dollars… all for a now “Not So Simple” heart attack.

In 1983, Critical illness insurance was created by a SouthAfrican surgeon named Dr Marius Barnard. Dr Barnard was finding that the cost of recovery was actually causing more stresses in his patients than the surgeries he preformed. His patients were taking longer to get better and in some cases dying as they were forced to return to work before their bodies had fully recovered.

Critical Illness insurance provides a lump sum of money should you suffer from one of the covered conditions. Most companies have 20+ covered illnesses but the reality is that 84% of benefits are paid for Heart Attack, Stroke, Cancer & Coronary Bypass Surgery.

What would a lump sum of money provide in the event of a “Simple” heart attack? You don’t need me to answer this for you. Instead I challenge you to think of someone you know who has suffered a Critical Illness. Think of how their financial situation was affected and ask yourself, would $25,000 of Critical Illness Insurance have changed their financial situation? Would it change mine?

Alford & Associates is a family owned and operated financial practice in Brantford. For over 25 years we have helped our clients secure their financial goals. First and foremost we help you secure your greatest asset… Your Family.

ALFORD & ASSOCIATES INC