Heart Health

• Cardiovascular disease, which includes heart disease and stroke, is a leading cause of death in Australia.
• Ischaemic heart disease (or simply ‘Heart disease’) is the most common type of cardiovascular disease. This is where the blood vessels to the heart are blocked or narrowed by fatty deposits, starving the heart muscle of oxygen and nutrients. This can result in a heart attack or repeated episodes of chest pain known as angina.
• The resulting damage to heart tissue can lead to death or years of disability.

• Cardiovascular risk factors include health conditions and behaviours, as well as a person’s age.
• Having many of these risk factors at the same time, further increases a person’s risk of heart disease or stroke.
• Risk factors include long-term high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes and smoking but there are many others.
• Some risk factors can’t be changed, such as a person’s older age, but many risk factors can be improved through positive lifestyle changes.
• Sometimes medications are needed to further reduce a person’s risk of cardiovascular disease, such as blood pressure lowering and cholesterol lowering medications.

The bottom line is that heart disease and strokes can be prevented or delayed by identifying and managing risk factors earlier. 

It’s possible to calculate a person’s estimated percentage chance of having a heart attack or stroke in the next five years – this can be done with your general practitioner as part of a Heart Health Check.

Knowing your level of risk helps you to make decisions about what you might want to do to reduce your risk. 

A Heart Health Check is a special type of Medicare funded GP appointment. They are an excellent opportunity for taking action to reduce a person’s risk of heart attack and stroke.

They can be done once a year and are free at practices that bulk bill this service - ask your GP about the cost of a Heart Health Check before your visit.

You may be asked to do some routine blood tests before you attend your Heart Health Check because the results are used in the calculator. Ask your GP about this beforehand.