The introduction of improved angioplasty techniques may mean increasing numbers of critical illness ...
The introduction of improved angioplasty techniques may mean increasing numbers of critical illness policyholders will be unable to claim for this procedure.
The new technique, being pioneered at the Glenfield Hospital in Leicestershire, will mean an increase in the number of angioplasty operations taking place on one artery with lower levels of blockage in an attempt to combat heart disease. Many critical illness policies will only cover angioplasty on two arteries with at least 70% obstruction. This already means that very few angioplasty patients are able to claim.
According to the British Cardio Vascular Intervention Society, by the end of 1996, 76,991 angioplasty operations were performed a year. Just 16% of those procedures were on one artery. With angioplasty operations doubling every four to five years it is likely that this proportion is already much higher.
Nick Kirwan, product manager at Pegasus, said: "This could potentially be a major step forward in the treatment of heart disease." But, he added: "As techniques become better and more refined and as treatments become more successful angioplasty will be performed on less severe cases."
Kirwan said a problem may arise from people not recognising the limitations of the angioplasty definition. He said this is not helped by a number of providers still failing to state that they will only cover multiple artery angioplasty in their definition headings.
"What is there to stop providers who only pay out on two arteries including this on the heading - rather than just calling it 'angioplasty'?" he said.
Over the years a number of improvements have been made to balloon angioplasty. Originally the process created a build-up in scar tissue that increased the chances of the artery becoming re-blocked. As a result in a third of cases the procedure needed to be repeated.
A technique called 'stenting', which involves placing a spring in the artery to hold it open, has limited the impact of this. But the new technique has improved the process further by incorporating a drug more commonly used in the treatment of cancer to stem the growth of scar tissue more effectively.
