An unconscious patient needs to be given immediate CPR

Between 1990 and 2016, the death rate due to cardiovascular diseases rose by 34% in India. While a heart attack is a serious, life-threatening occurrence that is increasingly spreading across our country, it is possible to save someone’s life if only one knows how to provide basic heart attack first aid.

Witnessing a loved one or even a stranger in the deathly embrace of a heart attack is overwhelming and scary. But what’s worse is to be helpless and to not know what to do. After reading this quick guide on heart attack first aid, you will feel more empowered and aware to help save a life.

Spotting a Heart Attack

The symptoms of a heart attack differ for men and women, but the need for quick action remains as crucial. Spotting a heart attack by quickly realizing the symptoms is critical in order to provide heart attack first aid. >

Men

• Crushing/ burning chest pain
• Sensation of squeezing, pressure or discomfort in the chest
• Discomfort or tightness in the neck and/or jaw
• Shortness of breath and palpitations
• Pain in the arms, often left arm, shoulder blades and back

Often, men suffering a heart attack will break out in a sweat and can lose consciousness. The pain is usually gradual and can last for several minutes. It’s not uncommon for the pain to fade and come back again, in which case heart attack first aid becomes essential.

Women

• Pressure or pain in the lower chest
• Pressure or pain the upper abdomen
• Pressure in the upper back
• Nausea and lightheaded
• Shortness of breath
• Extreme fatigue

Women suffering a heart attack usually believe it to be indigestion, a heart burn or extreme tiredness. Being aware and providing heart attack first aid will do no harm even if it turns out to only be indigestion.

Providing Immediate Heart Attack First Aid

For a Conscious Patient

• Ease strain on the patient’s heart by helping them in a comfortable position. An ideal position is on the floor, leaning against a wall with head and shoulders supported and knees bent.
• Loosen the clothing around their neck, chest and waist. For instance, if they are wearing a tie, remove it and unbutton the top button.
• Call for help but don’t let bystanders crowd the patient. Avoid leaving the patient unattended.
• Call an emergency helpline number 112 or 102 for an ambulance. You can call the local, neighbourhood hospital if you believe that’s going to be quicker.
• If the patient has prescribed medicine for a cardiovascular diseases, help them take it.
• Continuously monitor the patient — check their breathing, pulse and keep an eye on their consciousness.

For an Unconscious Patient

Heart attack first aid for a patient who loses consciousness goes a little beyond the above steps.

• Make sure to inform the ambulance/emergency number operator that the patient is unconscious. This is essential because they will despatch the ambulance with needed equipment like a defibrillator, which is used to restart the heart, ECG machine, ventilator, oxygen cylinder, etc.
• Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is advised when the patient is unconscious.
• If you aren’t trained in CPR, provide hands-only chest compressions. You can be guided by the emergency number operator/medical assist on call to perform them.

How to Give Chest Compressions (for adults)

• On the centre of the patient’s chest, place the heel of your hand, one on top of the other and lace your fingers together.
• Keep your shoulders directly above your hands and straighten out your arms.
• Compress chest at least by 2 inches by pushing hard and fast.
• Compress at least 100 times per minute with minimal interruptions.
• Let the patient’s chest rise completely before you push down again.
• Stop only if the patient starts breathing normally again, a trained person or medical assistant takes over, you’re too exhausted to continue properly or an automated external defibrillator (AED) is available.

Simple steps to help you file a claim under your health insurance policy

So you’ve opted for a health insurance to safeguard your finances against the soaring healthcare costs. Now that you have this assurance, it is important to understand how the claim process works, to ensure you are not worrying in case of an emergency.

Opposed to common belief, the health insurance claim process is relatively easy. Let’s get acquainted with the various elements of the claim procedure to avoid unpleasant surprises in your time of need:

Claim Type

Claims are commonly of two types:

Claim Intimation

Claim intimation is a crucial step of the claim process as it informs the insurer of the upcoming expenses. There is a high possibility of your claim being denied if you fail to inform within the specified time as mentioned in your policy.

In case of planned hospitalization at a network hospital, the specified time required to intimate your insurance company is at least 1-2 days in advance. For emergency hospitalization, you have to inform the company within 24 hours.

Claim Forms

Pre-authorization forms encapsulate all the information required to make a cashless claim. You have to submit a copy of required documents such as cashless ID, photo ID, previous consultation documents, if any for the company to approve the expenses. These documents will be verified by the hospital or a Third Party Administrator (TPA) to check if the illness or ailment is covered under the benefits of the policy.

For reimbursement claims, no pre-authorization form is generally needed. However, after discharge you need to submit all the documents pertaining to the out-of-pocket expenses. You can mail these documents along with the duly filled claim form to your service provider or TPA.

Claim Investigation

Claim investigation helps the insurance companies analyze and differentiate fraudulent claims from the genuine ones. Your claim form and documents will be thoroughly scrutinized and a suitable decision will be made.

Therefore, ensure you fill in the details correctly in the form and submit the documents as per the requirement.

In today's times, when critical illnesses and medical inflation are on the rise, a wellness program comes as a relief for policyholders. Read on to understand wellness programs and their benefits.

What is a wellness program?

ICICI Lombard General Insurance offers wellness program along with your health insurance policy or super top-up plan. Through it, you, as a policyholder, are rewarded with wellness points for keeping yourself hale and hearty by pursuing any of the activities covered. These points can be redeemed later as per the redemption terms and conditions, subject to a maximum.

Why should I opt for a wellness program with my health insurance policy?

According to a recent report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the probability of death in India from the four major non-communicable diseases – cancer, cardiovascular, chronic respiratory,and diabetes,is 26% for individuals aged 30-70 years. Let us have a look at the probable underlying causes:

As evident, these four diseases can be prevented or controlled with a small yet significant change in lifestyle. While diseases caused by heredity, radiation and infections are not avoidable after a certain extent, tobacco use and sedentary lifestyle should be controlled to ensure a long and healthy life.

Home insurance premiums may be exempted in the future

Fiscal Support Needed for Home Insurance

Insurance is a way of protecting oneself from a financial loss. It provides the insured a hedge against unforeseen loss events. General insurance provides protection against loss to property, unanticipated expenses, or future income.

The government strives to improve insurance penetration, both life and non-life. It provides tax exemption for the amounts paid as premium for life insurance as well as health insurance.

The government is also involved in creating capacity for insuring risks from terrorism and motor third party damage. Property insurance is of equal importance. Almost every business entity insures its property – factory and/or office premises. Home insurance is as good as non-existent.

Individuals Consider Home Insurance Avoidable

There is an absolute lack of awareness about home insurance. Even the sections of the population that are aware of and avail life and health insurance are ignorant of the importance of insuring their homes and belongings. It does not cost much but the premium for home insurance is considered a cost that can be avoided. General insurance companies have negligible portfolios of home insurance.

Know how an in-patient AYUSH cover can benefit you and your family

In 2013, the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India (IRDAI) asked health insurance companies to provide cover for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) treatments. Similarly, there are several ongoing government initiatives also, to promote alternative medicine, including the promise for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-like Ayurveda hospital.

In November 2014, the Department of AYUSH was elevated by forming a government body – Ministry of AYUSH – in order to develop education and research in the natural medicine departments and therefore make maximum medical assistance available to patients.

The departments include Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) as well as other alternative medicine systems. The Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy was started in March 1995, whereas the name AYUSH was coined in March 2003.

Despite such government initiatives and interventions to popularize AYUSH, both the rural and urban Indian population are still largely inclined towards allopathic treatments. According to the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO), 90% of the Indian population – both rural and urban – prefer allopathic treatments over alternative healthcare options.

However, AYUSH offers several benefits over allopathy, especially for recuperation from critical illnesses like cancer. It is believed to cause minimum side effects and considered to focus on treating the cause of the disease rather than just the symptoms. The treatment methods use organic components and are more cost effective.

AYUSH Benefits Under Your Health Insurance Policy

With the IRDAI move asking insurers to provide cover for AYUSH treatments, the demand for health insurance for alternative treatments has increased to some extent. An AYUSH cover in your health insurance policy covers in-patient hospitalization expenses.

The medical expenses incurred for in-patient treatment taken under Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy will be covered in the policy. We also reimburse enrolment fees paid by the policyholder to Yoga institutes as part of our preventive and wellness healthcare add-on. The sum insured for this benefit ranges from ₹2,500- ₹20,000 depending on the plan.

Life is full of uncertainties and health insurance is the best way of protecting yourself from them. Often people insure their health, home and assets but ignore their source of income. An accident can leave you partially or permanently disabled for the rest of your life and result in loss of income.

A majority of casualties arise due to road accidents and the numbers of accidents have increased in the past few years. Most accident-related policies have a permanent or partial disability cover where a fixed percentage of sum insured is paid to the policyholder depending on the nature of disability.

While choosing a policy you must opt for income protection benefits depending on your monthly expenditure. The benefits of monthly income are triggered only in the event of death or permanent disability. For temporary disability, income protection benefit would be available only for a brief period.

India has seen significant changes due to advancements in the medical and healthcare industries. The development of effective immunizations and treatment plans, coupled with the importance of health insurance, has led to the eradication of many deadly diseases. However, the country is still challenged by some killer diseases that just don't seem to declare exodus.

Here is a list of top ten killer death diseases in India:

1. Cardiovascular Diseases
   

This amounts to about 24.8% deaths in the country. Although preventable, the disease is killing more people each year. Understanding the causes and following precautions can help preventing the disease and possibility of death among individuals. It is surprising that heart diseases in India occur 10-15 years earlier than in the west.

Causes of Cardiovascular Diseases

1. Use of tobacco
2. Diet, physical inactivity, and obesity
3. High cholesterol and high blood pressure
4. Heredity

Prevention Methods

1. Quit smoking and use of tobacco
2. Eat a heart healthy diet
3. Maintain healthy weight

2. Respiratory Diseases

These diseases account for 10.2% deaths in India. According to a survey, India accounts for 47 per cent of global measles death!

Causes of Respiratory Diseases

1. Smoking
2. Air pollution
3. Silica dust, Asbesto, grain dust

Prevention Methods
1. Stay active, make sure your workplace is safe
2. Eat a healthy diet
3. Breathe deeply
4. Quit smoking

3. Tuberculosis

The disease accounts for 10.1% deaths in the country.

Causes of Tuberculosis

1. Contagious causes

Prevention Methods

1. Vaccination with BCG vaccine
2. Eat a healthy diet
3. Regular preventative tests

4. Malignant and Other Tumours

About 9.4% people in India die due to malignant and other tumours. Here is a list of causes of tumour development in the body:

Causes of Tumours

1. Chemical or toxic compound exposures
2. Ionizing radiation
3. Pathogens
4. Genetics
5. Some unknown causes

Prevention Methods

1. Avoid tobacco usage
2. Eat a healthy diet
3. Maintain a healthy weight and stay active
4. Get regular medical care and immunization

5. Illdefined Conditions

It is sad but true that around 5.3% population in India die due to III defined conditions due to unknown and undetermined.

Prevention Methods

1. Get regular medical care

6. Digestive Diseases
   

   Disorders related to digestive system accounts to 5.1% of deaths in India. The major cause is negligence of people while consuming food.

Causes of Digestive Diseases

1. Unhealthy food
2. Medications: Aspirin
3. Alcohol and tobacco abuse

Prevention Methods

1. Quit smoking and void use of alcohol
2. Eat a healthy diet
3. Exercise lightly 5 days week
4. Avoid daily use of aspirin, sulpha drugs, and steroids

7. Diarrheal Diseases
   

   About 5.0% people in India die of diarrheal diseases.

Causes of Diarrheal Diseases

1. Food poisoning (bacterial infection)
2. Eating foods that upset the digestive system; allergic food
3. Medications and radiation therapy

Prevention Methods

1. Wash hands frequently
2. Eat a healthy diet
3. Quit alcohol

8. Unintentional Injuries
   

   Accidents cause 4.6% of deaths across the nation. India is rated as the number 1 country when it comes to deaths in road accidents!

Causes of Unintentional Injuries

1. Accidents/disasters

Prevention Methods

1. Drive carefully
2. Carry a first aid kit

9. Intentional Self Harm
   

   Suicide is the second most cause of death among Indians aged 15-29 years. It accounts to 3.0% of total deaths in India.

Causes of Intentional Self Harm

1. Suicide

Prevention Methods

1. Don't stress yourself
2. Talk to loved ones
3. Rehabilitation and counselling

Junk foods can be a treat to the taste buds, but their ill effects are widely known. Consuming them regularly can have adverse effects on your health and may cause irreparable damage to the body. Scientific research has shown that junk food, foods with added sugar, and processed foods, can make you prone to type 2 diabetes and heart diseases. These foods can eventually make your brain weak and non-functional.

Eating junk food affects both your physical and mental health. Let’s deep dive into some details of junk foods and their harmful effects.

What are junk foods?

Any food with zero or negligible nutritional value, high in fat and trans fat content, can be termed junk food. Most fast foods, including candy, soft drinks, bakery products, burgers, along with salty and oily foods, can be termed junk food. They are high in calories, salts, and fats, and are usually low in vitamins, minerals, and other nutritional contents. The more we consume these foods, instead of healthier and nutritional options, the less will be the intake of essential nutrients and vitamins needed by the body.

Consumption of junk food can lead to a lot of health problems. Let’s look at a few of the harmful effects of junk food.

Obesity

One of the major harmful effects of junk foods from your favourite fast food restaurants is obesity and its related health complications. The excessive sugar, calories, and fats present in junk foods contribute to weight gain. Obesity can lead to many medical issues, such as diabetes, joint pain, and heart diseases.

Depression

Junk foods are loaded with sugar and fats that can cause certain chemical reactions in the brain, affecting its functioning. The body may lose essential nutrients and amino acids by consuming too much of them. These symptoms can eventually lead to the inability of the brain to deal with stress and can leave you feeling depressed.

In case of planned or emergency hospitalisation, you may want to go to a hospital that’s in your vicinity. If the doctor who’s been treating you works at a particular hospital, chances are you would prefer that one over others. Now, it may be possible that your health insurance company's hospital network doesn't cover your preferred hospital. Then, the only option you would you have at hand is to make a reimbursement claim on your health insurance.

You might have too many doubts about a reimbursement claim that range from what is a reimbursement claim to what you can do to ensure a smooth and speedy settlement of your reimbursement claim. Hence, here we are to help you get acquainted with its complete process and further understand its intricacies.

What is a reimbursement claim?

In a reimbursement claim, you pay the hospitalisation expenses from your pocket, and the health insurance company later pays that amount to you provided you submit all the necessary documents. You will have to apply for a reimbursement claim only if you choose to get your treatment done at a hospital which is not a part of your health insurance company’s hospital network or if you miss opting for a cashless claim.

While making a reimbursement claim, you need to be careful about the coverage of your treatment and related expenses under your family health insurance policy. Your health insurance company can turn down your claim if your policy doesn't cover them.

How is a reimbursement claim different than a cashless claim?

A reimbursement claim can take longer to process than a cashless claim. For a reimbursement claim, you need to ensure you collect and submit all the documents and bills related to your hospitalisation. On the other hand, in a cashless claim, the empanelled hospital will do the job of sending your documents and bills to the insurance company, and the claim will be settled with them directly.

In a reimbursement claim, you have to wait till you get your money reimbursed from the insurance company, whereas in a cashless claim, the insurance company will pay it straight to the hospital. You will only have to bear the expenses that are excluded from your policy or are over your sum insured.

Since your insurance company does not have a tie-up with the hospital, your reimbursement claim will be thoroughly investigated. This may further delay your claim settlement. Cashless claims instead tend to get settled faster and in a hassle-free manner.

When do I need to inform you about my reimbursement claim?

In case of planned hospitalisation, you can inform us two days before admission, and in case of emergency hospitalisation, you need to inform us within 24 hours of hospitalisation.

What are the steps involved in a reimbursement claim?

Unlike cashless claim, you have to take the initiative when it comes to making a reimbursement claim. Here are the steps involved in a reimbursement claim process under our health insurance.

1. Step 1: You intimate the claim

You can call our 24x7 toll-free number 1800 2666 or SMS ‘HEALTHCLAIM’ to 575758 (charge – ₹3 per SMS) or email us at ihealthcare@icicilombard.com to inform us about your hospitalisation.

2. Step 2: You get your papers ready

Once you have made the payment at the hospital, arrange all the documents chronologically. Start from the original bills for doctor’s consultation, X-ray and other medical expenses to your discharge summary, medical reports and hospital bill. With us, you can also include the bills of your medical expenses 30 days before hospitalisation and 60 days after.