The number of Americans traveling to medical tourism destinations each year is astounding. A spectacular six million Americans travel to countries such as Costa Rica, Mexico, Thailand, amongst other popular destinations for medical care. The treatments might be low in value, but are high in quality.

For this reason, people readily visit Mexico for cardiac procedures, knee, and hip replacement surgery for instance. With price 80% less expensive for high-risk medical procedures, medical tourism destinations rose to popularity. Since heart disease in the United States is the number one cause of death and one of the most expensive procedures to get, medical tourism destinations seem like the perfect getaway for heart related treatments.

Heart Disease in the United States:  The Cold Hard Facts

Heart disease, cardiovascular disease, and stroke have taken the lives of 787,000 people in 2011. It has taken more lives than all types of cancer combined. Just in the United States, a person suffers from a heart attack every 34 seconds and every 60 seconds someone dies. An estimated 720,000 people in the U.S. have suffered from a heart attack each year.

Out of all the different types of heart diseases prevalent amongst Americans, coronary heart disease has taken the life of 380,000 people each year. The costs associated with treatments of heart disease are sky high, totaling more than $320.1 billion. Most Americans do not have the proper means to visit a medical specialist, but thanks to the widespread popularity of medical tourism destinations, they have found a cure to their heart, which lies in Mexico.

These stats were a courtesy of the Heart Foundation.

Mexico Heals the Heart for Less

Medical specialists in Mexico practice the following heart procedures angiography, angioplasty with stents, coronary artery bypass, congenital heart defect surgery, and valve replacement. Even though expert medical specialists exist in their own countries, the expenses associated with heart surgery convince them otherwise.

For instance, heart valve surgery costs $50,000 and with the addition of hospital bills, it increases to $70,000in the U.S. Sometimes, depending on the requirements and condition of the patient, the bill exceeds $170,000.

For a patient earning a meager salary, the surgery is out of their reach. If you compare it with Mexico, the total cost for most heart procedures comes down to $17,000 and goes as high as $40,000. Naturally, for most Americans, Mexico seems like a feasible choice to visit for heart treatments. Moreover, the cardiac specialists practicing in Mexico have trained with Mexico’s best, not to mention that the country has outlined strict regulations regarding the testing and education for doctors.

In fact, the medical specialists by law are required to take a recertification test after five years regardless of their age or experience in the medical field. People concerned about medical practices undertaken by doctors there should be relieved to know that only the best of Mexico will be on hand to handle their case.

People that suffer from a heart condition and do not have the means to pay for it should pick Mexico as their medical tourist destination.

Source:

http://mexicalimedicalguide.com/medical-procedures/cardiology/safe-affordable-heart-surgery-mexico/

http://www.theheartfoundation.org/heart-disease-facts/heart-disease-statistics/Heart

http://news.health.com/2009/04/08/traveling-treatment/

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