Every 30 minutes, one Australian loses their life to heart disease, yet it takes less than 30 minutes to know your risk.
During Heart Week 2023 (1-7 May), the Heart Foundation is encouraging Aussies to take three simple steps to look after their heart:
- Check your blood pressure
- Use the Heart Age Calculator to understand your risk of heart disease.
- Book a Heart Health Check with your GP
Do you know your blood pressure?
High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease. The only way to find out if you have high blood pressure is to have it checked regularly, even if you’re feeling well and healthy.
“The Heart Foundation encourages everyone aged 18 and over to have their blood pressure measured at least once every two years,” says Natalie Raffoul, Heart Foundation Healthcare Programs Manager.
Blood pressure can be measured at home using a validated machine, at a pharmacy via a SiSu Health Station, or by a doctor or nurse as part of a Medicare funded Heart Health Check.
“Over half of Australians live with three or more modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Modifiable risk factors, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, account for 90 per cent of the risk of heart attack,” says Ms Raffoul.
“Prevalence of high blood pressure increases with age, with almost four out of five adults living with hypertension by the age of 75.”
Calculate your Heart Age
It takes three minutes to find out with the Heart Age Calculator, designed to help you understand your risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Intended for those aged between 35 and 75, the Calculator uses well-known risk factors for heart disease such as age, sex, blood pressure, and cholesterol to estimate your risk.
If your heart age is higher than your actual age, you may be at a higher risk of having a heart attack or stroke and should speak to your GP about getting a Heart Health Check.
Help to Save the Medicare Heart Health Check
More than 25,000 Australians have now signed a petition calling for the Australian Government to extend funding for the Medicare Heart Health Check beyond 30 June.
Medicare Benefits Scheme data for February shows that nearly 440,000 Australians have taken the Check since it launched in 2019.
Heart attack survivor, Emma Wilson, says she wishes she had access to a Heart Health Check prior to her heart attack in 2015, which happened on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean.
“I was super fit and healthy and working in a gym when I had my heart attack and there were no early warning signs until it was too late,” says Ms Wilson.
“I now recommend to all friends and family and clients to go and get a Heart Health Check – you can’t assume like me that just being fit and healthy means you aren’t at risk.”
