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Threat of heart disease to soon be rising again: Aussie report

Xinhua, November 22, 2016 Adjust font size:

Australian researchers have warned that the progress made in 50 years of fighting heart disease could soon be undone.

In a report released on Tuesday, Melbourne's Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute found that growing rates of obesity and type-2 diabetes along with the increased diagnosis rate of irregular heartbeats have prompted a resurgence in the number of deaths attributed to heart disease.

The report, Change of Heart: Time to End Cardiovascular Complacency, argued that medical advancements from the last 50 years which have improved life expectancy are in jeopardy.

Jonathan Shaw, the co-author of the report, said the decline of heart disease has begun to level out in recent years and expressed concerns that heart disease death rates could be about to increase.

"This stagnation is being fuelled by rising rates of type-2 diabetes and obesity and a new epidemic of age-related heart conditions," Shaw said.

"And I'm particularly concerned about the younger people in their 20s and 30s who are diagnosed with obesity and type-2 diabetes and how the high chances of that developing into heart disease in their 50s and 60s."

The report said that too many Australians with cardiovascular disease risk factors were not being checked by a doctor.

"Between half and two-thirds of the people diagnosed with these conditions do not receive adequate treatment," Shaw told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Tom Marwick, the director of the institute, said there was an incorrect perception in Australia that cardiovascular disease was under control.

"The report is a wake up call... there is a new face of heart disease," Marwick said.

Marwick said that cases of irregular heartbeat, which increases the risk of stroke five-fold, were becoming more common.

"The number of Australians affected is projected to increase by 60 percent over the next 50 years," he said.

Garry Jennings, chief medical advisor at the Heart Foundation, said the report proved that governments, health care professionals and the community needed to take more action.

"For the first time in nearly 10 years, we've seen a rise in heart disease deaths this year, which tells us that this is not time for complacency," Jennings said.

"Heart disease continues to claim the lives of one Australian every 12 minutes so cardiovascular disease should be a top priority in Australia." Endit