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Home / Critical illness cover / - Heart Valve Replacement or Repair
Definition
Undergoing heart surgery from medical necessity to replace or repair one or more heart valves.
What does this mean?
The valves of the heart open and close as part of the pumping action, which circulates blood around the body. When these valves become diseased, the ability of the heart to pump properly is reduced. Surgery can be undertaken to either repair or replace the damaged valve.
NEWS
Interest rise means insurance endurance
23 July 2007 12:50:51
British consumers are less likely to switch their life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection polices due to rising interest rates, according to MoneyExpert.com.
The firm's second quarter research shows that five million fewer people chose not to change supplier on a number of services than in January.
Tighter finances as interest rates continue to rise have meant that Brits are less disposed to shopping around for the best deal, whether it be in insurance, credit cards, electricity, or broadband.
Sean Gardner, Chief Executive of MoneyExpert.com, commented on the new Switching Index.
"The financial squeeze caused by higher interest rates has meant consumers are more inclined to stick with what they know and in any case providers are getting tougher," he said.
"The reality is that consumers are battening down the hatches in preparation for a rough ride as the mortgage becomes more expensive and disposable income reduces. It seems we're all taking stock of our finances – and perhaps switching is an unwelcome distraction in the current climate."
He added that switching your supplier - whatever the service - is never a decision to be taken lightly.
Premenstrual women have 'depressed nervous system'
20 December 2007 11:10:13
Women could face a decreased chance of cheap life cover or critical illness insurance if they suffer with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Japanese scientists investigating females who experience the condition concluded that many have permanently depressed nervous systems.
They noted that although PMS affects most women to some extent, science has not yet offered a biological explanation for it.
In the latest issue of the BioPsychoSocial Medicine journal, the research team link the condition to decreased nerve activity each month – with women suffering extreme symptoms facing the affliction permanently.
"Our findings indicate that the occurrence of premenstrual symptomatology could be attributable to an altered functioning of the autonomic nervous system in the symptomatic late luteal phase [the phase that precedes menstruation]," confirmed lead researcher Tamaki Matsumoto.
He explained that PMS consists of non-specific physical, emotional, behavioural and cognitive symptoms in the days prior to menstruation, including irritability, anxiety, abdominal bloating and breast swelling.
Females investigated by his team who experienced the most marked symptoms – known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) - had lower rates of nerve activity than the other groups during the entire menstrual cycle.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online
Critical illness: Role of genes in progression of Aids
25 October 2007 13:30:57
Aids sufferers looking at their critical illness cover options may be interested in the latest research showing the effect of gene variations on the condition's progression.
A study at the University of Texas Health Science Centre challenged the established belief that viral load, or the quantity of virus in an HIV-infected patient's blood, is the main indicator of how soon an individual might be diagnosed with full-blown Aids.
Scientists at the university concluded that people with a combination of two specific genes were more likely to display characteristics pointing to progressive HIV disease.
"The genetic variations contribute nearly as much to the extent of inter-individual variability in Aids progression rates as does HIV-1 viral load," lead researcher Sunil Ahuja told the French Press Agency (AFP).
CCR5, one of the genes in question, helps facilitate HIV entry into a cell while the other, CCL3L1, is an immune response gene.
Other genes that have yet to be fully explored by scientists are believed to play a part in Aids' development.
According to UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation, 39.5 million people across the globe were living with HIV or AIDS at the end of 2006.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online
23 July 2007 12:50:51
British consumers are less likely to switch their life insurance, critical illness cover or income protection polices due to rising interest rates, according to MoneyExpert.com.
The firm's second quarter research shows that five million fewer people chose not to change supplier on a number of services than in January.
Tighter finances as interest rates continue to rise have meant that Brits are less disposed to shopping around for the best deal, whether it be in insurance, credit cards, electricity, or broadband.
Sean Gardner, Chief Executive of MoneyExpert.com, commented on the new Switching Index.
"The financial squeeze caused by higher interest rates has meant consumers are more inclined to stick with what they know and in any case providers are getting tougher," he said.
"The reality is that consumers are battening down the hatches in preparation for a rough ride as the mortgage becomes more expensive and disposable income reduces. It seems we're all taking stock of our finances – and perhaps switching is an unwelcome distraction in the current climate."
He added that switching your supplier - whatever the service - is never a decision to be taken lightly.
20 December 2007 11:10:13
Women could face a decreased chance of cheap life cover or critical illness insurance if they suffer with premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Japanese scientists investigating females who experience the condition concluded that many have permanently depressed nervous systems.
They noted that although PMS affects most women to some extent, science has not yet offered a biological explanation for it.
In the latest issue of the BioPsychoSocial Medicine journal, the research team link the condition to decreased nerve activity each month – with women suffering extreme symptoms facing the affliction permanently.
"Our findings indicate that the occurrence of premenstrual symptomatology could be attributable to an altered functioning of the autonomic nervous system in the symptomatic late luteal phase [the phase that precedes menstruation]," confirmed lead researcher Tamaki Matsumoto.
He explained that PMS consists of non-specific physical, emotional, behavioural and cognitive symptoms in the days prior to menstruation, including irritability, anxiety, abdominal bloating and breast swelling.
Females investigated by his team who experienced the most marked symptoms – known as premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) - had lower rates of nerve activity than the other groups during the entire menstrual cycle.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online
25 October 2007 13:30:57
Aids sufferers looking at their critical illness cover options may be interested in the latest research showing the effect of gene variations on the condition's progression.
A study at the University of Texas Health Science Centre challenged the established belief that viral load, or the quantity of virus in an HIV-infected patient's blood, is the main indicator of how soon an individual might be diagnosed with full-blown Aids.
Scientists at the university concluded that people with a combination of two specific genes were more likely to display characteristics pointing to progressive HIV disease.
"The genetic variations contribute nearly as much to the extent of inter-individual variability in Aids progression rates as does HIV-1 viral load," lead researcher Sunil Ahuja told the French Press Agency (AFP).
CCR5, one of the genes in question, helps facilitate HIV entry into a cell while the other, CCL3L1, is an immune response gene.
Other genes that have yet to be fully explored by scientists are believed to play a part in Aids' development.
According to UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation, 39.5 million people across the globe were living with HIV or AIDS at the end of 2006.
Direct Life and Pensions Services Ltd are one of the UK's leading providers of life insurance, term life assurance, mortgage protection, critical illness and life insurance advice online