Heart disease: The largest killer in Australia

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMar 16 2011

According to a new federal government report, heart disease is the biggest killer in Australia, causing nearly 50,000 deaths a year.

The report came from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. It said that heart disease caused 34 per cent of all deaths, followed by cancer, at 29 per cent, in 2008. The report also found 3.5 million Australians had long-term cardiovascular disease in 2007-08. These diseases include coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure.

According to AIHW spokesperson Lynelle Moon heart disease was also the most costly group of illnesses to treat. “(It cost) about $5.9 billion in 2004-05, with just over half of this money spent on patients admitted to hospital,” she said. The disease was responsible for 475,000 hospital admissions and played a secondary role in 797,000 admissions in 2007-08. However, death rates for all of the major types of cardiovascular disease had fallen by 80 per cent since the 1960s and were continuing to fall, she said.

Experts as well as Ms Moon cite preventable risk factors for heart disease like smoking, being overweight, excessive alcohol use and a poor diet as cause. “While it is good news that smoking rates are down ... we are seeing increasing rates of Australians who are overweight or obese,” she added. About 60 per cent of adults were overweight or obese and 70 per cent did not get enough exercise. About 10 per cent of Australians aged over 14 years also consumed alcohol at risky levels. In the 2007-08 national health survey, about half of Australians did not eat at least two to four servings of fruit a day, while 91 per cent did not consume at least four to eight servings of vegetables daily.

The report revealed that the poor, as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and those living in remote areas had the highest rates of hospitalization and death from cardiovascular disease. Heart disease also kills old people the most, the report said. “'The prevalence of [heart disease] is expected to increase over the coming decades as the number of elderly Australians ... continues to grow,” the report said.