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Pre-existing conditions · Updated October 2026

Super Visa insurance for parents with heart conditions: what "stable" means and which plans cover it

A stent, atrial fibrillation or blood-pressure pills don't rule your parent out. The date of the last change does.

Heart conditions come up in many of the Super Visa calls Pankaj takes, and they are where medical questions most often go wrong. The insurer does not ask whether your parent has a heart condition so much as when anything about it last changed. Get that date right and most parents can be covered.

By Pankaj Bhatia, CHS, PFA Updated
Check stability Rules by insurer

In short

A stable heart condition can be covered on Super Visa plans that include pre-existing conditions. "Stable" means no new or changed medicine or dose, no new or worse symptoms, no hospital stay, no new tests or referrals for the plan's stability period: usually 90 days under 60, 90–120 days at 60–69 and 180 days from 70. Some histories, such as diagnosed heart failure, make a parent ineligible on several plans, and Travel Shield Plan B excludes heart conditions at 71–80. Count the days from the last change before you choose.

What restarts the stability clock

Each of these, on the date it happened, starts the count again.

Medicine

A new heart or blood-pressure medicine, a dose up or down, or stopping one. Blood-thinner adjustments count.

Symptoms

New, more frequent or worse chest pain, breathlessness, palpitations or swelling, even without a visit.

Hospital or ER

An admission or emergency visit for the condition, or a procedure such as a stent or pacemaker.

Tests and referrals

A referral to a cardiologist, a test result showing it is worse, or tests and surgery still waiting.

Usually not a change: switching between brand-name and generic of the same drug and dose. Routine check-ups with no change are fine.

Heart condition stability checker

Enter your parent's age and the date anything about the heart condition last changed.

A planning aid from insurers' published rules. Each insurer's medical questions and policy wording decide coverage.

Stability rules for pre-existing conditions, by insurer

For the plan or option that covers stable pre-existing conditions. From policy wordings and insurer applications where we have them, and industry summaries otherwise; reviewed October 2026.

Insurer / planStability period by agePre-existing coveredHeart-specific rules
TuGo0–59: 90 days; 60–69: 120 days; 70–85: 180 days; 86+: 365 daysNo limitOptional rider covers a condition stable for only 7 days, ages 79 and under.
Destination: Canada (Option 1)0–59: 90 days; 60–69: 120 days; 70–79: 180 daysto 79Not eligible with diagnosed heart failure.
Secure Travel (RIMI), Plan 20–69: 90 days; 70–84: 180 daysto 84From 70, any "yes" on the medical declaration removes pre-existing cover.
TruStone (Empire Life)0–79: 90 daysto 79Not eligible with a heart condition and ejection fraction under 40%, or prednisone/home oxygen for the heart in the last year. If diabetes is pre-existing, heart conditions must be disclosed.
Allianz0–59: 90 days; 60–89: 180 daysto 89—
Manulife (Enhanced)0–85: 180 daysto 85Nitroglycerin use for a heart condition may disqualify, whatever the stability.
21st Century (Enhanced)0–85: 180 daysto 85—
GMS0–79: 180 daysto 79Atrial fibrillation, a recent stroke or heart failure may need 12 months of stability.
Travel Shield, Plan B0–70: 180 daysto 70Heart, stroke and lung conditions are excluded at 71–80, even if stable.

Before you buy for a parent with a heart condition

Get the prescription history. Ask the pharmacy in the home country for a printout of the last 12 months. Dose changes are easy to forget.

Ask the cardiologist two questions: has anything changed in the last six months, and is any test or follow-up planned? A pending echo or stress test can make the condition "unstable".

Move the start date if you need to. If the last change was 150 days ago and the plan needs 180, starting a month later can make the difference, as long as your parent arrives on that date.

Choose enough coverage. A cardiac admission with tests and a stent can pass $50,000 quickly. Many families choose $150,000 for parents over 70.

Buy before arrival. Buying after arrival adds a waiting period for sickness, from 48 hours to 15 days by plan and age.

Often not eligible

Heart failure
Diagnosed or treated, on several plans
Home oxygen
In the last 12 months
Weak heart pump
Ejection fraction under 40% (TruStone)
Transplant
Heart or other organ, had or waiting
Against advice
Travelling against a doctor's advice
Each insurer's eligibility questions differ. If one says no, another may say yes.

Buy online from leading insurers

Press Buy online to go to the insurer's secure page, or compare them all in one quote first.

Questions about heart conditions and Super Visa insurance

Can my parent get Super Visa insurance with a heart condition?

Usually yes. Most insurers cover a heart condition that has been stable for the plan's stability period, typically 90 to 180 days, on plans that include pre-existing cover.

Some heart histories make a person ineligible altogether, such as diagnosed heart failure on several plans. Use the stability checker to see which plans fit.

What makes a heart condition "unstable"?

Any new or changed medicine or dose, new or worse symptoms such as chest pain or breathlessness, a hospital stay, new test results showing it is worse, a specialist referral, or tests and surgery still pending.

A switch between a brand-name and generic version of the same drug and dose is usually not a change. Check the definition in the policy you buy.

My father's blood-pressure pill dose was changed 4 months ago. Is that a problem?

It restarts the stability clock. At four months it meets a 90- or 120-day rule but not a 180-day rule.

So at 60–69 TuGo (120 days), Destination (120 days), RIMI (90 days) and TruStone (90 days) could cover it, but not plans asking 180 days.

Is a past stent or bypass covered?

It can be, once the condition has been stable for the required period and no follow-up tests or changes are pending.

Mention the procedure on the medical questionnaire even if it was years ago. Some questionnaires ask about heart surgery within a set number of years.

Does atrial fibrillation count as a heart condition?

Yes. Insurers treat arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation, as cardiovascular conditions, and blood-thinner dose changes count as a change.

Some insurers ask for a longer stability period for atrial fibrillation. Ask Pankaj before you buy.

What changes for heart conditions after 70?

Stability periods usually stretch to 180 days, medical declarations get stricter, and Travel Shield Plan B stops covering heart conditions between 71 and 80.

See insurance for parents over 70.

My mother has diabetes and a heart condition. Anything special?

Yes. Some plans link the two: TruStone, for example, excludes heart conditions for a pre-existing diabetic unless they were disclosed and covered.

See Super Visa insurance with diabetes.

What happens if we answer the medical questions wrongly?

The insurer can refuse the claim or void the policy, and some add an extra deductible for inaccurate answers.

Fill in the questions with the cardiologist's notes and the prescription history in front of you.

Pankaj Bhatia, CHS, PFA

Written by Pankaj Bhatia, CHS, PFA

Insure In Canada Inc. · Licensed in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

Pankaj goes through the medical questions with families line by line, with the prescription history open, because that is where most heart-related claim problems start.

Call 647-640-2222 · WhatsApp · About Pankaj

Sources and related pages

Not medical advice. Stability rules and eligibility questions change and differ between plans; the policy wording and the insurer's questions govern.