According to the National Stroke Foundation a hidden and largely undetected heart condition is costing the Australian economy over $1.2 billion a year. In a report released today the Foundation has said that Atrial Fibrillation (AF), commonly manifested as severe irregularity of heart beat and palpitation that may go unnoticed is affecting more than 240,000 Australians at present with half over the age of 75.
AF is the cause of one in six strokes and quite as many heart failures says the report. People with AF may have a seven times and three times higher risk of stroke and heart failure respectively says the report. AF leads to over 45,000 hospitalizations annually costing $5,200 per person, the report revealed.
Dr Richard Gerraty of Melbourne's Alfred Hospital feels that the time to act is now. “The current estimate is $1.25 billion per year and that's probably an underestimate…We can look at least doubling that in the next quarter century unless we pick it up and have better strategies for finding it, working out the true prevalence and working out the correct strategies for minimizing the risk of stroke in these patients.”
The Foundation has urged for more research and more standardized and early management of AF. It said that present cost estimates may be 45 percent less than the actual figures. National Stroke Foundation spokesman Dr Denis Crimmins said, “Atrial fibrillation is one of the most challenging cardiovascular diseases to diagnose and treat…While we cannot prevent atrial fibrillation, better detection and management such as the introduction of treatment guidelines has the potential to reduce stroke and heart failure, and save lives…The reality is that AF is an expensive illness…However, if we start to pay more attention and investigate AF's true prevalence across Australia, we could significantly reduce preventable AF related strokes, heart failure and premature death.”
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