4 common health conditions In Singapore that you should protect yourself against

Another common disease in Singapore that’s closely linked to heart attacks is high blood pressure, also known as hypertension. Although grouped under the Singapore Heart Foundation as part of illnesses that are related to the heart, the Ministry of Health categorises hypertensive heart disease as a separate cause that has led to almost 3% of all deaths in the country in 2018.

The elderly tends to suffer more from hypertension, with 1 in 2 persons between 60 and 69 suffering from the condition. However, younger people should not be complacent, as 1 in 4 people between 30 and 69 also suffer from high blood pressure.

For patients diagnosed with high blood pressure, you can manage it by taking your blood pressure readings at home and take precautionary measures such as maintaining an appropriate BMI, cutting salt consumption, quitting smoking, limiting alcohol intake and reducing stress, amongst other self-care treatments.

Since 1980, the number of people living with diabetes has increased four-folds to approximately 422 million in the world. Singapore has not fared much better, having the second highest proportion of diabetics among developed nations globally.

In Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s 2017 National Day Rally, he pointed out that 1 in 9 Singaporean are currently living with diabetes.

If not well-managed, diabetes can often lead to other health issues such as heart attack, stroke, kidney damage, blindness and limb amputation. We can protect ourselves from diabetes by re-evaluating our lifestyle and changing unhealthy eating habits.

One way to encourage you in your journey to make healthier decisions is our AIA Vitality programme, where you receive rewards for achieving health goals and making even small improvements to your lifestyle.

Knowing you have sufficient medical coverage in the event of hospitalisation and being diagnosed with a critical illness is a weight off your shoulders. This ensures you will not need to strain your finances or burden your loved ones in order to seek treatment, which may be costly.

Given the advancement of medicine and increasing awareness of early detection, if you have been diagnosed with one of these health issues today, proper management of your diagnosis and making the right lifestyle changes can help you on your road to recovery or avoid escalation into more serious critical illness.

With the right critical illness plan, you will also be able to protect your family’s standard of living and focus on what’s most important – your treatment and ultimately, recovery – despite the loss of your income.

One solution that you can consider when choosing a comprehensive critical illness plan is the AIA Absolute Critical Cover (ASCC). Not only does the plan cover you for 150 multistage critical illnesses, you may also add on the ASCC Booster^[1] to enjoy continued coverage if you are diagnosed with multiple and recurred critical illness.

^[1] Please refer to the ASCC and ASCC Booster product summary and policy contract for full terms and conditions.