Let’s take the example of ischemic heart disease, for a single heart attack to happen, it may take years. When one vessel is blocked, blood will flow through collateral vessels around it. Collateral vessels are abnormal blood vessels that connect the aorta with the pulmonary arteries. The aorta is a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to arteries throughout the body. This helps to prevent the particular heart tissue from starvation. Over time, when collaterals are no longer available, the tissue will eventually be deprived from oxygen and malfunction. Hence, by the time you get that crushing pain on your chest, the disease has actually already progressed to quite a critical stage.
So what happens after an NCD has been detected? Unfortunately, the cost of medical treatment tends to be high. Just take cancer for example. There is radiotherapy at approximately RM50,000 per cycle and chemotherapy which costs RM75,000 per cycle. This amount does not include doctors’ consultations, medications for pain management and patient’s care. Even worse, the cost of healthcare is projected to increase annually with healthcare inflation at approximately 15% according to the Life Insurance Association of Malaysia, Persatuan Insurans Am Malaysia and Malaysian Takaful Association.
The long-term ongoing costs that come with certain NCDs are also often overlooked. There are certain courses of medication which need to be taken for a lengthy period of time. In the event of an NCD which affects motor skills, such as a stroke, patients might need extensive regular physiotherapy and rehabilitation at approximately RM150 a session. A professional care program for patients in need can cost anywhere from RM1,000 to RM 5,000 depending on the degree of specialization, the number of available hours and the scope of work.
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