Holiday Insurance For Vascular Disease
Vascular disease refers to conditions that affect the blood vessels, such as narrowing, blockage, or weakening, which can impair circulation and lead to complications in organs like the heart, brain, and lungs.
Taking a holiday and spending time relaxing can be the perfect thing to do when you have a heart condition. However, planning will be crucial if you want to stay stress-free when away from home.
It is always worth checking with your GP before you book your trip, that you are well enough to travel and that the GP isn’t considering further tests or treatment for you. They will also be able to help you understand what your limits are and what you can realistically expect to do when on holiday.
Why Choose Free Spirit To Cover You?
- Most medical conditions and disabilities covered
- No upper age limit for most destinations on Single Trip and Annual Multi-trip policies
- Choice of several cover options
- Single trips covered up to 115 days (45 days if aged 76 years or over)
- Annual Multi-trip provides cover for any number of trips during the year – travel up to 32 days per trip (Standard and Super cover) and 45 days (Super Duper)
Get a Medical Travel Insurance Quote
With a Free Spirit medical travel insurance policy, you gain the peace of mind to travel knowing that you and your medical condition are fully covered.
Useful Tips When Travelling With A Heart Condition
Choosing the right destination
Be realistic when choosing the final holiday destination, think about what you want to get out of your holiday rather than letting the holiday take it out of you. Research what medical care may be available to you in the event of a medical emergency. Take into consideration that holiday islands may not have accident and emergency hospital facilities. Also, check how far away from the nearest doctor is your hotel located.
Are there lots of steps to climb? Is the beach more than a short walk? How reliable is the public transport? What’s the average daily temperature? These are some of the questions you need to ask to ensure you get the most out of your holiday from the outset.
Organise your medication in advance
If you are entitled to free prescriptions at home this won’t be the case when travelling abroad. So take enough medication for your trip as well as a few days extra too just in case you have any delays on your return trip. Also, consider keeping a list of any prescribed medications you are taking including their generic and brand name in case you need emergency supplies
Long haul flights
Flying with heart disease shouldn’t be an issue but it’s always worth checking with your GP that you are fit to fly, especially on long-haul flights. If you’ve been fitted with a pacemaker or an ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator) inform the airport security as they will need to be made aware of it when you pass through airport security. You may also be more prone to DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) when you have heart disease.
To reduce your chances of getting a DVT during your flight, wear compression stockings while undertaking gentle leg exercises when sitting, it is also a good idea to have a walk around the airplane at least once every hour. Remember to stay hydrated with lots of water and avoid too much caffeine and alcohol.
Buy comprehensive travel protection
Standard travel insurance may not cover your medical condition(s) so you could be at risk of travelling without the protection you need. Buying a specialist travel policy will provide you with the peace of mind that should you need to cancel your trip because of your heart disease, or you have a medical emergency while travelling, you’ll have the cover in place to protect any expenses you’ve already paid or are contracted to pay terms and conditions apply of course!
If you’ve struggled to get travel insurance for your condition, Free Spirit could help.
The Types of Vascular Disease we Cover
There are several types of vascular disease. We will ask you questions about your pre-existing medical condition(s) to ensure you get the cover that’s right for you. You must give full and true answers to all the questions. If you do not do so, your travel insurance policy may not protect you in the event of a claim.
Here are some of the different questions we will ask depending on your particular type of vascular disease:
Cerebrovascular Disease
Cerebrovascular disease encompasses disorders affecting blood flow to the brain, leading to conditions like strokes and transient ischemic attacks, often linked to risk factors such as hypertension and diabetes.
Some of the questions we may ask you during the screening process are:
- Have you ever had a stroke or a mini-stroke that caused symptoms for more than 24 hours?
- Are you waiting for any investigations or treatment for this condition?
- How many transient ischaemic attacks (if any) have you had in total?
- Do you suffer from an irregular heartbeat?
- Have you ever been a smoker?
Mesenteric Vascular Disease
Mesenteric vascular disease involves reduced blood flow to the intestines due to narrowed or blocked blood vessels, often causing abdominal pain and digestive issues.
Some of the questions we may ask you during the screening process are:
- Have you made a complete recovery from this condition?
- Was this associated with atrial fibrillation?
- Was this associated with an aortic aneurysm?
- Was this associated with poor blood circulation to your legs?
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Peripheral vascular disease is a condition characterized by narrowed arteries that reduce blood flow to the limbs, often causing pain, numbness, and increased risk of infections. This primarily occurs in the legs but it can also affect blood flow to the arms.
Some of the questions we may ask you during the screening process are:
- Have you needed an amputation because of poor blood supply?
- Is the distance you can walk limited by pain in your calves?
- Excluding amputations, have you ever had any operations or procedures for this condition?
- Have you ever been a smoker?
- How many unplanned hospital admissions have you had for this condition in the last 12 months?
Free Spirit ‘Super Duper’ level of cover has a 5 Star Rating
from Defaqto for both Single Trip and Annual Multi-trip travel insurance. This recognises that it is one of the highest quality offerings in the market.
How Can I Get A Quote For Vascular Disease Travel Insurance?
To ensure you get the cover you need, we may have other questions that we need to ask you based on the answers you provide.
Should you need any help whilst getting a quote or if you have any questions not covered by our frequently asked questions page, please call 02392 419 080 to speak to a friendly voice in our UK-based dedicated Free Spirit customer services team, and your call will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
For details of the cover we provide read our Free Spirit policy wording or view details of the limits of cover.
Customer reviews
″Brilliant company and brilliant prices for people who have health issues and need holiday insurance, the site was easy to use no hassle. My condition is exactly the same as last year but the insurance company I used then said they could not insure me this year. Well done Free Spirit. Would definitely use again and recommend.″